Totally Galactic!
by SuperKateB
Summary: The age of Crystal Tokyo has dawned upon the world, and the original Sailor Senshi are now adults. In fact, they're married adults with children. But the Eve of Mistresses has arrived, bringing the birth of a new league of soldiers...just in time for thos
1. Destiny Waits for No Sailor

Destiny Waits For No Sailor  
  
Hello again! This promises to be a long note. No, I'm not planning to   
be annoying and attempt my (sad) humor, but I have a lot to say.  
1. Many thanks go out to my buddy Christina, who is my official co-  
conspirator... Namely, I write and she helps me think of what it is I   
am writing.  
2. For all of you who know and love Galena, do not fear. I will be   
writing both alternately, to appease all parties involved. Except   
those who hate fanfiction. But then why would you even be reading   
this? Okay, I'll shut up now...  
3. Those of you who have read "Mommy, Who Is Sailor Earth?" will be   
ahead of the game a bit, just to tell you. That was a slight spoiler   
on my part, because I wrote it before I decided on this story. Sorry!   
(And this is about ten years later than that story was, by the way.)   
I am now officially dissuading you from reading it until everything   
with Tara is reveled, if you catch my drift. (Read on, you will!)   
4. All names are the American dub. Haruka is now "Alexandra", Michiru   
is "Michelle" and Hotaru is "Hannah". These were the suggested   
American names, and I'm rolling with it.  
5. Galena is not making an appearance. Sorry.  
6. If you've got any ideas for the next chapter, or episode, or   
whatever, e-mail me or Christina. Duncan@chicago.avenew.com for me  
Ladybug142@aol.com for Christina  
And don't forget-send gifts to both of us!  
  
Since I'm obviously getting boring, I'll let you go. Enjoy the show. I  
cross my heart that the next one will have a shorter author's note.  
Rated PG  
Kate Butler and Christina  
************  
  
She knelt before the fire in a meditative manner. The sparks   
licked the ceiling ever so slightly, just as they had for generations.  
Pulling on a piece of dark hair habitually, she sighed. "Mother,  
you mustn't eavesdrop on me when I'm meditating."  
The black haired woman in the doorway was taken aback. She   
gasped audibly. "Tara, how in heaven did you know?"  
"You taught me well, Mother," retorted the girl. She stood to   
her full height, which notably taller than her five-foot-three mother.  
"I can sense auras as well as you can."  
"I see." The woman was oddly silent.  
Turning to her mother, Tara looked into the purple eyes. "Is   
something wrong?"  
"Nothing, but I would like you to meet with the Queen and the   
Princess."  
The girl shook her head. "How many times must I tell you? I   
refuse to serve the Queen. It would interfere with my being at the   
temple."  
"You sound too much like me when I was young." She stepped   
farther into the room. Her kimono was red and white, and very much the  
same as her daughter's. "But I think that you need to make friends,   
like all girls your age."  
Tara turned away from her mother and stared at the flames. "I   
must protect the temple."  
"Your father and I can do that." She smiled sadly. "You are   
turning out to be lovely, Tara, and I want you to live the life of   
someone who is lovely. I don't want you to become a stubborn old   
temple maiden like I have."  
The girl swung around. Green eyes evaluated the woman with   
loving care. "You're no 'stubborn old temple maiden', Mother," she   
said, smiling. "But your aura tells me that something important is   
afoot."  
"Very true, daughter." Crossing her arms beneath her chest, the   
priestess tried to look intimidating.  
"Now, will you get over to that palace or will I have to drag   
you there by your robes?"  
Tara laughed in spite of herself. "For this one time, I will   
listen to my mother..." She began to exit the room. "...the Mistress   
Mars."  
Raye's eyes snapped wide open. "That girl," she sighed, biting   
her lip. "I don't think that I will ever truly understand how she does  
it."  
************  
  
Pink hair flew everywhere as Reeny threw on her dress. "Why did   
I have to inherit Mom's habits?" she asked the little pink cat that   
sat watching her.  
"And why am I turning into a total nag who hyper-analyzes   
everything? Like mother, like daughter, Reeny," Diana responded,   
jumping off the bed.  
Reeny pulled her hair into the family style and glared at the   
cat. "Wrong answer, Di," she responded, a bit annoyed.  
"Just because you don't like it doesn't make it a lie. I'm your   
guardian cat. You're not supposed to like anything I say."  
At that, Reeny laughed. The clock on the wall chimed three   
times.  
"I really am late!" She took off through the marble doors.  
"Don't..." Diana grimaced as she heard six loud thumps. "Trip   
down the stairs," she finished.  
************  
  
"The palace is so big!" breathed Tara, her wooden shoes clicking  
loudly on the marble floor.   
The ceilings went on for hours, vaulting high into the sky. Many  
of them were clear glass, reveling dozens of bright stars.  
"I wonder what all the constellations are supposed to be," Tara   
thought aloud, pausing to admire the beautiful sky that spread before   
her.  
A voice came from behind her. "That one that looks like a ladle   
is the Big Dipper, and there's a smaller one around there somewhere,"   
it said.  
Tara whirled around to come face-to-face with a short girl in a   
long white gown which was trimmed with gold. Red eyes smiled at the   
tall girl.  
It was the Princess.  
"Please forgive me for acting like such a fool, Princess," Tara   
addressed the woman, bowing deeply. "I had yet to realize that I was   
in the presence of greatness."  
The Princess chuckled. "Cut it out!" she squealed. Seeing that   
the dark haired girl had no intention of getting up, she sighed.   
"Please don't bow! I hate it when people bow!"  
Tara snapped up, as though she had been pulled by a thread. She   
blushed. "Then, Princess, I apologize for acting like such a fool."  
"And don't you call me 'Princess' either!" She folded her arms.  
"Yes, miss."  
"My name is Reeny. Not 'Princess', not 'miss'. Got it?" Reeny   
tugged a pink pigtail. "How bad does my hair look?"  
Tara began. "It looks..."  
"And don't you lie because I'm the princess. I hate that, too."   
"Your left ponytail is crooked, Reeny," she said shyly. Reeny   
sure was a master at getting her own way, noted Tara.  
Reeny stamped a foot. "Diana was right! I am turning into my   
mother!"  
"Of course I'm right," came a new voice from behind Tara. "I'm   
always right, Reeny. We've been through this dozens of times."  
The princess lowered her red eyes at someone-or something-  
unseen. "If you start, I'll lock you out of the Palace tonight!"  
A small pink cat with magenta eyes walked between the two girls.  
Tara jumped a mile into the air.  
Reeny sighed. "She might be a nag, but she's harmless, really."  
The black haired girl scanned the area. She looked up, down, in   
circles, under her own kimono, and over Reeny's shoulder. "You mean...  
that cat... She talks?"  
The cat laughed. "My name is Diana. I'm the princess' guardian   
cat."  
Tara's green eyes grew wide. "Cats...don't...talk..." She   
stuttered.  
Playing with a pink hair, Reeny smiled. "You haven't been to the  
palace many times, have you?"  
"I've never been here, actually."  
Cat and girl looked at one another. "Is she who Mother spoke   
of?" asked Reeny in a surprised voice.  
"I am quite sure of it," returned Diana.  
Blinking, Tara looked at Reeny and the cat. "The Queen was   
speaking of me?"  
"In context," Diana responded.  
"So to speak..." Reeny gulped. "Your name is Tara, yes?"  
"Mm-hmm."  
"And you're the daughter of a temple maiden named Raye?" Diana   
questioned.  
"Yes."  
Reeny's red eyes got wider. "And your father's name is Chad?"  
Tara took a deep breath. "I would like to know what this is all   
about!" she exclaimed, wringing her robes in her hands.  
"You'd best see Serenity about all this." Diana began to walk   
away.  
"Wait!" yelped Reeny, running clumsily in her gown. Seeing Tara,  
who was standing still, she stopped. "Are you coming?" she asked.  
Tara sighed. "I'm coming out of respect for you, Princess Reeny.  
Not because I like royalty-I don't."  
Reeny nodded. "Understood."  
************  
  
The Queen's Parlor in the Crystal Palace was a room that would   
dwarf any other parlor on the planet. Filled to the ceilings with   
plush couches, pillows, wing chairs, and polished mahogany tables that  
Tara could see her own reflection in, it seemed more like a rare   
exhibit on upholstery that would be seen in the Tokyo museum than an   
actual room.   
And, on a beaten-up, soiled blue couch sat Queen Serenity.  
Slightly short, she was, with long blonde hair which swept the   
floor a bit. Her dress was the purest white, with gold trim at vital   
areas, much like the gown the princess wore. Fabric in the back of the  
dress created the semblance of wings. And the effect was done well,   
for the Queen appeared to be more angel than woman.  
Small pieces of hair had eluded her pigtails and they moved in   
an unseen wind as the Queen stood. So did her bangs, which reveled a   
golden crescent moon on her forehead. A crown with a large red stone   
set in it balanced high on her brow, giving her the look and elegance   
of a Goddess.  
"My Queen." Tara bowed as low as she could, hair bunching on the  
ground as she nearly doubled over.  
Serenity walked forward slowly, and put a hand on the bowed   
girl's shoulder. "Rise, Tara, and make yourself comfortable." Her   
voice was like velvet.  
Tara, without so much as blinking, made her way to the nearest   
couch. Sitting carefully, she clasped her hands together and sat up as  
tall as she could. "Thank you for your blessing, Your Highness. I walk  
in your light everyday."  
Reeny, who had flopped down in the nearest chair, looked at Tara  
as though she was speaking ancient Aztec languages. "Are you always   
like this, Tara?"  
"Like what?" asked Tara, turning to the lounging Princess.  
"Are you always so quiet and serene and such a brown noser?"   
asked the sarcastic Princess.  
"Reeny!" scolded the Queen, who was making herself comfortable   
on the ugly couch. "What would your father say?"  
"He'd probably agree," muttered Diana under her breath.  
"And sit up! You're going to wrinkle your dress if you sit like   
that!"  
Reeny yawned, straightened her back, and sat up. "Is that better,  
Mom?"  
The Shinto watched in amazement. How was the Princess permitted   
to be so lax and rude around the Queen? And how could the Queen allow   
her to talk back in such a way?   
"Now, Tara, how did you go about getting here, to the Palace?"   
asked Serenity, smiling at the girl.  
Tara smiled back. Serenity's smile could warm the polar ice   
caps. "My mother, that is, Mistress Mars, told me to come here to meet  
you and the Princess."  
Serenity's light blue eyes widened. "You know she's..."  
"Mars? Oh, yes. Her aura told me so, and has for years, Your   
Highness." Tara hung her head. "Unfortunately, she never told me of   
this herself."  
"Sometimes, it is hard to tell your children about secrets that   
you hold in your heart." Looking at Reeny, her eyes turned sad. "But   
sometimes, it is much harder to tell a child of something-or someone-  
that they are destined to become."  
Reeny caught the sad stare. "Uh-oh."  
"Luna, come." As the Queen said this, a black cat with a moon   
upon her head entered the parlor. She walked very slowly and looked   
older than any of the people in the room.  
"Mother!" exclaimed Diana, racing towards the cat.  
Luna smiled at her child. "Queen, I am prepared to help you,   
Reeny and Diana in anyway I can."  
The Queen nodded. Luna did a back-flip, and a locket with a   
crescent moon and several tiny stars upon it appeared.   
"Reeny, you are Sailor Moon now." Serenity's face was stern and   
adult as she cradled the little broach in her hands. "Since you have   
reached the maturity of being able to use the Silver Crystal, you can   
take up the challenge of being Sailor Moon. Do you accept it?" Blue   
eyes met red.  
Tara felt time seemingly stop. Sitting on the couch, she watched  
as Reeny stared at the tiny locket. Which path would she choose?   
Freedom, or an unyielding bond to the world?  
"Why?" the princess asked, looking at the symbol of the Moon on   
the circle of gold.  
"The Royal Guards are sensing strange forces from the Andrommeda  
Galaxy. We need to be prepared for the worst, should a threat arrive."  
Serenity held out the locket. "Do you accept it?" she repeated, pale   
lips tight.  
"Yes." Reeny took the tiny circle and bowed. "In the name of the  
Moon," she breathed, in some sort of trance.  
Tara watched in awe, but her eyes were not fixed upon the people  
so much as something unseen...their auras, to be exact.  
It was as though part of the mother's aura was dislodging itself  
and attaching that of the daughter. It was amazing to watch. Tara   
could not take her eyes off the event-she watched in a mixture of   
amazement and horror; not even her mother had ever reported seeing   
auras transferring from one person to another.  
Once Reeny had broken her trance and walked back to her seat,   
the Queen looked at Tara.  
"And you, Tara... Well, I do believe you should talk to your   
mother." Serenity smiled.  
************  
  
"Mother?"   
Both Raye and Chad had already heard the footfalls on the steps,  
but the voice of their daughter confirmed all fears.   
Chad smiled. If someone had told him, one thousand years   
previously, that he would come to love a cold temple maiden, he would   
have laughed. Now, he had two temple maidens to love, each more   
beautiful than the last, but both as stubborn and set in their ways as  
twin oxen. Not that he would prefer it any other way...  
"Be brave," he said, clutching Raye's sweaty hand in his.  
Raye just nodded.  
"Mother? Father?" Tara opened the door, peeking a head through.   
Black hair, which had been her mother's oriental donation to the gene   
pool, fell around her face. Sweat ran down her cheeks.   
Stepping all the way into the room, she straightened to her full  
height. She wiped perspiration from her forehead and neck.  
"You didn't have to run home." Raye tried not to sound like she   
was scolding the girl, but it came across harshly.  
Tara blushed and lowered her head in a revert bow to her mother.  
"I'm sorry. I had studying to do and assumed that I best hurry   
back..."  
Chad sighed. "Come in, Tara. Your mother and I have much to tell  
you."  
Nodding, she knelt down across the table from her parents. It   
was a rare occasion when she was allowed in her parents' room, and it   
usually meant that trouble was ahead.  
"Her Highness said you would want to speak with me." Tara tried   
to smile, but both adults looked stern.  
Raye nodded. "You met with them, yes?"  
"Yes, Mother. I was permitted to see Princess Reeny accept the   
challenge of being Sailor Moon." Tara remembered in amazement the   
sight she had seen with the auras; she would later have to mark it   
down in her notes of spiritual phenomena.  
"And what did you think of Sailor Moon?" Chad seemed sterner   
than his normal self, which was a sign that something was not right in  
the world.  
Tara thought deeply about her father's question before   
answering. Since childhood, Tara had been intrigued not by Sailor Moon  
but by Sailor Earth... Her mother would always avoid answering the   
question of who Sailor Earth was by writing the Scout of the Earth off  
as a kind and loving being who protected the world with help from her   
friends. But a doubt was rising in her mind...  
"Mother," she began, a knot coming to her stomach, "who is   
Sailor Earth?"   
Raye sighed. Chad smiled grimly.   
"It is time."  
The High Priestess rose, walking slowly to the antique chest   
that sat in the most distant corner of the room. Tara recognized that   
chest-artifacts and memorabilia from her mother's childhood were   
stored there. In fact, many of the clothes had been Tara's favorite   
toys as a young girl, and a few items had become awe-inspiring relics   
from a distant past that no one seemed completely certain of.  
The woman pulled a tiny box from the depths of the box. On it   
was a tiny symbol. An Earth.  
Raye knelt back down and placed the box carefully on the table,   
opening it towards Tara with the utmost care.  
On the white lining sat a beautiful locket. It had the same   
symbol as on the top of the box-that of the Earth-on it. The Earth   
symbol was green and tan, but the rest of the locket was gold.  
"Tara..." Raye spoke slowly, a tear running down her cheek.   
Watching silently as her child picked the locket up and ran her   
fingers over it as though it was made of glass, she finally did what   
she had so waited to say for an eternity. "Tara, you are Sailor   
Earth."  
************   
  
"I knew you would come here once Raye told you." Serenity's   
voice cut clearly through the midnight air. Her back was turned to the  
road, but she sensed the presence and heard the footfalls. "You are   
much like Raye."  
Turning to face Tara, the Queen smiled. "Do you accept?"  
She then noticed that Tara was crying. "Why?" asked the girl,   
tears running down her pale cheeks. "Why did it have to be me?"   
Serenity saw the Locket of the Earth clutched in the girl's left  
hand. "She gave you the locket, I see."  
"Yes," Tara managed to sniffle.  
Wrapping her arm around the girl's waist, Serenity led them to a  
weather-beaten park bench. She thought about her words first and then   
spoke, clearly and concisely, to the girl.  
"I hated being Sailor Moon."  
Tara's eyes grew and she temporarily stopped crying. "You..."   
she stuttered, unable to talk.  
Serenity smiled and nodded. "Oh, yes. I was Sailor Moon long   
before Reeny was even born."   
Tara nodded, not responding.  
"What do you think of that? Of my being Sailor Moon, I mean."  
"I think..." Tara bit her lip. "Your Highness, my answer is   
rather rude..." she trailed off.   
The Queen smiled. "You're going to tell me that I was a ditz and  
a meatball-head, aren't you?"  
Tara blushed.  
"But I saved the world. And that's what's important." Serenity   
sighed and looked to the skies. "How important is the temple to you,   
Tara?"  
Tara looked up with the Queen. She was about six inches taller   
than the woman next to her, but she felt like a giddy child in the   
presence of the Queen. "I would risk my life and all of the cosmos to   
know that Cherry Hill was safe."  
"And would you risk the lives of your friends?" asked the Queen,  
smiling up at the stars and the Moon and the planets.  
Tara looked down at the locket. "I...I don't really have... I   
don't have any friends, Your Highness." She swallowed despite the lump  
in her throat.  
Serenity sighed. "If you accept the challenge of being Sailor   
Earth, you will forever have the companionship of five other girls,   
the Princess included." Tara made no notable reaction. Serenity   
continued. "Would you risk those lives as well?"   
Tara chose not to use words, but to nod. "But, pardon any   
rudeness, Your Highness, what does my love of the temple have to do   
with becoming the Sailor of the Earth?" She stared up at the stars,   
looking for the planet Mars. Her mother.  
Bowing her head, the Queen of the Earth sighed. "Tara, if you   
choose to ignore this calling, then the galaxy will become overridden   
by an evil force. I promise you that.  
"You were chosen because you are the daughter of a Sailor Scout   
from the past. You are the eldest child of a Planet Mistress. You   
were, therefore, chosen. But you are the youngest of the five Galactic  
Scouts." Serenity sighed. "We all agreed to give the youngest child   
the chance of becoming Sailor Earth. She was to be the least obscure   
of the Galactic Sailors. We all knew that from day one."  
Tara was confused. She was just a young girl from a temple in   
the heart of Crystal Tokyo. What was the Queen trying to tell her?  
"The road ahead looks bleak, Tara. You can guess that; I've seen  
you glance at my aura a dozen times, and I know exactly what you're   
reading. You're just like your mother. And your mother would have been  
the perfect Sailor Earth."  
"I think she makes a better Mistress Mars," Tara thought aloud   
in a sleepy and meditative voice.  
The Queen chuckled. "That she does. And, when you were born, we   
all knew that it would be you-the Sailor of Earth."  
Tara yawned, staring up at the sky. Finding Mars, she meditated   
and imagined her mother as the Sailor of Mars. As if giving a   
blessing, the imaginary image winked.   
"I accept, Queen Serenity. What is my first quest as the Sailor   
Scout of the Earth?"  
Serenity sighed. "You and Princess Reeny must find the other   
four Galactic Sailors. They are the daughters of the other   
Mistresses."  
Tara blanched. It looked like she had her work cut out for her.  
************  
  
Walking along one of the up-scale residential areas of Crystal   
Tokyo, Lyra sighed and adjusted her huge orange backpack. A Royal   
Guard car rolled down the street, reminding the residents all of the   
possible danger that faced the world.  
"I don't see what everyone is so worried about," she thought   
aloud, playing with a curly blond hair. "After all, the Planet   
Mistresses could whip any of those evil idiots into shape while   
balancing Mom's fine china on their heads." Lyra laughed at the visual  
picture that created. She laughed lightly. "And they're worried? Ha!"  
Opening the door of the light green house on the corner, Lyra   
smiled. Home, sweet, home...  
"Lyra!" came a voice. The youngest brother, Paul, jumped on his   
oldest sister and nearly knocked her to the floor. "How was big-kid   
school?"  
"Fine. Where's Ma?" In the house run by Mina-the-Warden, you   
always had to be on your toes and report in.  
"Feeding Lila. Guess what?"  
With Paul attached to her school uniform skirt, Lyra made her   
way up the stairwell. "Tell me, and then I have to go talk to Ma."  
"Bobby got in trouble for throwing food at lunch again!" Paul   
squealed, finally letting go. "Isn't that...um...cosmic?"  
Rolling her eyes, Lyra patted the boy on the head.   
"Intergalactic," she responded, taking off for her parent's room.  
Of course, that was where her mother was, as always.  
Sitting in her old and tattered orange and yellow floral dress,   
spooning peas to a wiggling and ill year-old girl named Lila, the   
pagan goddess that was really mere woman sat. She had all off her   
perfectly blond hair pulled back with a giant red bow, and had a bit   
of green baby food on her face. But she didn't look a day older than   
she was, and her cheery outlook on life hadn't changed, not even after  
having eight annoying, runny nosed, hyperactive, and chipper kids.  
"Ma, I'm home." Lyra walked quietly into the room, observing the  
scene without really entering it.  
Without looking at her eldest child, Mina smiled and shoved a   
spoon in the baby's mouth. "How was school?"  
Lyra sighed. "I didn't have astronomy today, like I was supposed  
to." She sat on the floor, which was the only seat clear of clutter.  
Mina blanched. "And why not?"  
"There's this new girl in school named Tara, and she lives at   
that really old temple up on Cherry Hill. She's awful nice but a bit   
eccentric; she went on about the Queen and that creepy Crystal Palace   
for most the conversation we had before school. And then I had to miss  
astronomy to show her the ropes."  
Her mother watched with obvious interest but refused to move so   
much as a muscle in her face. "Is that so?" she managed, turning to   
her daughter and wiping all signs of emotion from her face. "Did she   
mention a Silver Crystal at all?"  
"Nope." Lyra raised an eyebrow at her beautiful mother. "Is   
something wrong, Ma?"  
"I don't think so..." Scooping up the baby, she passed the child  
off to Lyra. "Go get your father and tell him to watch house."  
"Why?" Lyra got out of her mother's way as the woman began to   
tear the bedroom closet apart.  
"Because we are going to the Crystal Palace."  
************  
  
"The Crystal Palace is creepy, Ma! And it's all angular and   
sharp and evil looking!" Lyra sat down on the steps leading into the   
giant building.  
Mina crossed her arms. "This is no time to act like the big baby  
you are, Lyra! There is something wrong, and I want to know what!" She  
pulled on her daughter's uniform top. "Now you get up before I have to  
get mad!"  
The girl jumped up. Rule number one-do not get Mina-The-Warden   
mad.  
"But how are we supposed to get in to this thing? We're not   
even expected..." Lyra sighed. Not only did she have to go into this   
ugly, creepy and possibly possessed building, but she had to do it at   
four in the afternoon with her overly excited mother. Why hadn't she   
just shut up about the eccentric girl with the Crystal Palace   
obsession?  
"Like this!" Her mother held a small, round object near what   
appeared to be the Palace's entrance. "Venus Mistress Power!" she   
called, waving it in an odd motion.  
A yellowish-orange glow illuminated the door. It opened slowly,   
allowing just enough room for the two people to pass through.  
"What the... You're... My mother is..." Lyra couldn't word her   
amazement at what had just taken place. She stood, instead, gaping at   
the door which had opened.  
"Yes, I'm Mistress Venus. You're right, I did open that   
confounded door instead of going all the way around to Security. Now,   
come on!" She grabbed Lyra's wrist and dragged her daughter into the   
Palace.   
"How can you be Mistress Venus?" Lyra gasped as her mother   
pulled her down the winding corridors of Crystal Palace.  
"Why not?" retorted Mina, turning a rather sharp corner with   
little care, as though she had walked the path they were walking   
subconsciously hundreds of times. "When I was just a bit younger than   
you, I became the Sailor Scout known only as Sailor V, and later,   
Sailor Venus."  
Lyra gasped. This was deep. "And then what?" she asked,   
following her mother at her break-neck pace.   
"Let's see..." Mina made another sharp left, picking up her   
pace. Lyra was starting get wonder if they had accidentally enter some  
sort of amusement park maze instead of the Crystal Palace. "We beat   
this idiot named Beryl, then... hmmm... Alan and Ann, the Dark Moon   
Family, uh... The Death Busters and Pharaoh 90... Oh, and I can't   
forget the Dark Moon Circus, or whatever those Amazon guys were. And   
then, Serena-or the Queen, whichever you prefer-took care of Galaxia   
and Chaos and all that fun stuff."  
Lyra stared at her mother with blank brown eyes. "Huh?"  
Mina chuckled, slowing her marathon to more of a brisk walk.   
"Never mind. I'll have you help me tell it all to the little ones as   
they get bigger."  
They stopped in front of a gold-plated door with embedded   
crescent moons-everywhere. On the top, on the bottom, even on the   
doorknobs, which were already crescent moons to begin with.  
"Whoa." Lyra gasped at the door.   
Her mother straightened her bow and grinned at her child. "Lyra,  
as they say in America-'you ain't seen nothing yet'!"  
************  
  
"Venus, dear, relax." Serenity, the Princess, and the new girl   
from school sat in the parlor and had seemed to be discussing business  
when Lyra's mother had unceremoniously burst in upon the three.  
The woman known as Mistress Venus, clad in a ratty dress and   
battered slippers, continued ranting about calling a "Meeting of   
Mistresses" and things of that sort.  
Lyra watched in horror, blushing deeply and keeping her head   
bowed. Her mother, her beautiful, adult, loving warden of a mother was  
standing in the parlor screaming at the Queen.  
Serenity reminded the girl of a block of ice. Cool, unwavering,   
yet visibly affected by every change. She would melt soon in the hot   
air that was coming from Lyra's mother.  
The Princess jumped up after a few minutes, and the dark haired   
girl followed her. Without words, the duo grabbed onto one of Lyra's   
wrists and dragged her off, into the sunset-lit marble hall.  
"I apologize for my mother." Lyra bowed her head and studied the  
grain of the hard floor. "I do not know why she reacted like that."  
The Princess swept a pink pigtail behind her shoulder. "No   
bother, really. She cut our work down a lot by dragging-oof!"  
As the Princess spoke, the other girl elbowed her in the   
stomach. "Don't mind her," she spoke slowly and softly, as though the   
Palace was holy ground.  
"Tara, right?" asked Lyra, smiling at the strange girl. Green   
eyes sparkled beautifully, and a green and tan locket with the symbol   
of the Earth dangled around her neck.  
"Yes." Seeing the curious gaze towards the locket, Tara blushed.  
"It was a gift...from my mother..."  
Lyra smiled. "May I see it?" she asked, amazed.  
Tara removed the locket. "Be careful," she warned, handing it to  
the blonde.  
Smooth and perfectly round, the charm weighed next to nothing.   
The earth symbol shined in the dying light.   
Running her fingers over it, Lyra began to get a strange   
sensation... And a familiar feeling...  
"My mother has a locket somewhat like this..." The vision of   
Mistress Venus opening the door came to mind. "She...my mother, I   
mean... She's Mistress Venus."  
The Princess opened a large door at the end of the hall. A   
garden spread before them.   
The garden was full of roses.  
"Wow..." Lyra glanced over at the beautiful scenery. "This is   
unbelievable... Whose is it?"  
"It's my father's garden." Waving her pink hair, she smiled.   
"Oh, Princess..."  
"Not Princess!" the pink haired girl exclaimed, blushing. "It's   
Reeny. Is that okay with you?"  
"Reeny... It suits you much better." She managed a smile.  
Tara walked to a rosebush, oddly silent. Reeny sat down on a   
park bench. "What do you think of this palace?"  
"I hate it. It's big, empty, quiet..." Lyra shuddered and   
focused on the garden.  
Tara smiled at that. "I agree!"   
"But so is the universe. And you study astronomy."  
The blonde started. "How did you know?" She whirled around and   
locked gazes with a pair of strong red eyes.  
"I know a lot, Lyra."  
"And my name..."  
Tara turned briskly around. What was Reeny up to?  
Reeny smiled. "You are the daughter of a Mistress. I can use the  
Silver Crystal. And Haley's Comet will be in line with the Moon,   
Earth, North Star and Sun on the night of Northern Lights. Do you have  
any idea what that means?"  
The black haired girl gasped and opened her eyes wider.   
"The Silence?" asked a shocked Lyra, swallowing hard.  
"If Saturn has her way, yes," giggled the Princess, smiling.   
"But, in the Mistress' cases..."  
"The Eve of Mistresses?" asked Tara, amazed.  
Reeny nodded. "You've been studying some ancient lore."  
"What's that?" asked Lyra, running a hand through her blonde   
hair.  
"You cannot learn that until you find your true self." Tara   
looked up at the stars. "Serenity is teaching us about astronomy,   
Lyra."  
Lyra looked up with the other girl. "But why are you staring at   
Polaris?"  
"Maybe I should ask, why aren't you staring at it, Lyra?" Reeny   
craned her neck to see the little beacon that shone in the now night   
sky.  
"What's that supposed to..." Thinking of Tara's locket, and her   
mother's Mistress powers, and all the odd little phrases that didn't   
seem like sayings Reeny would use, she gasped and turned quickly to   
the Princess. "Excuse me!" She bowed a bit, and then ran the other way  
as fast as she could.  
Tara sat down on the bench next to Reeny. "That was a really   
mean trick to pull on the poor girl, Reeny."  
"I know her mom," Reeny said solemnly. "And she would never tell  
the poor girl."  
Tara shrugged. "She doesn't have to know..."  
"Sometimes, you need to nudge someone a bit before they come   
around..."   
************  
  
Sipping her tea, Mina sighed. "I wish you had called and told me  
about Reeny." She looked into the blue eyes that she had stared into   
since age fourteen.  
"Would that have made you any more comfortable telling her?"   
Serenity solemnly asked. "The Eve is near...  
"Yeah, yeah," Mina waved a hand, as if dismissing all of   
Serenity's caution. "Why can't we just cross that bridge when it   
comes?"  
"Far too dangerous," a black cat scolded from the tabletop.   
"After all, if Saturn pulls anything..."  
"So what are we going to do?" asked the woman wearing the big   
red bow. She slammed a fist on the table. "We're supposed to send six   
kids into a battle with Saturn? We all know how strong that little   
nymph is!"  
Fingering a pigtail thoughtfully, Serenity lowered her head.   
"Venus, there is no better choice, alright? The Galactic Sailors have   
to be brought into the world sooner or later..."  
"I vote for later!" snapped Mina, glaring at her friend.  
"Mina, I have never seen you so adamant and stubborn on a   
subject." A white cat jumped up on the table. "Why are you acting like  
this?"  
"Artemis..." Mina sighed and rubbed her temples.  
Serenity shook her head slowly. "Sometimes, when your children   
are in danger, you have to go that extra step." She watched for a   
reaction in the light pair of blue eyes. "Is that what this is all   
about? Lyra's safety?"  
Mina nodded, a tear running down her cheek. "That's why I was   
blessed that my parents never found out about all my Venus stuff. They  
would have been scared to death..." She sniffled again, louder, and   
wiped a tear away.   
"But we can protect the girls," Serenity said softly, patting   
her friend's hand. "And that is one thing that neither of our Earth   
families could manage."  
"I still... I don't know..." Mina began to cry.  
The door opened slowly. "I hate to interrupt, Your Highness,   
Mother, but..." Lyra walked into the room, bowing to the Queen.  
Wiping her eyes, Mina brought herself to look at the girl.  
She was about five-foot and had unyieldingly curly, corkscrew   
dirty blond hair. Light brown eyes that always sparkled seemed to be   
filled with a new energy, and her always cherry-colored lips were   
pressed together in an apprehensive half-grin. Beautiful in a slightly  
mysterious manner, she was her mother's daughter...  
"Sit down, Lyra," said her mother, choking a bit on tears. "I   
need to talk to you..."  
Lyra took up a chair. "What's wrong, Ma? You look as though   
you've been..."  
"Crying? Yes, she has, dear. And there are reasons why."   
Serenity smiled in her calm yet warm way. "Tea?"  
Lyra shook her head. "Can you tell me, Ma?"  
Serenity spoke first. "Your mother isn't very good with secrets,  
and I'm afraid that her ability to divulge things has not improved   
over time. I'm going to help her out here, first, by saying that you   
are not who you think you are.  
"You are Lyra, the daughter of Mina and Andrew, but you are far   
more than that, as is every daughter of a Planet Mistress ever born.   
Mina?"  
The other nodded. "I love you, Lyra, with all my heart. But you   
are the oldest daughter of a Planet Mistress, and, therefore, you will  
be something special." She sniffled a bit.  
"I'm the only one of the Mistresses that have multiple children,  
and I've sort of become a mother bird for the other Mistresses'   
daughters, and I don't like this whole business one bit! I'm surprised  
that the others even dared to have children after knowing what could-  
and will-happen..."  
Serenity looked at her friend. "Venus..." she said, gritting her  
teeth.  
"Alright, alright..." Mistress Venus bit her lip. "I'm going to   
'let the cat out of the bag', Serena... I just had to get that out,   
first..."  
Drawing an item out of her purse, she sighed. Lyra strained to   
see what it was.  
Her mother laid a tiny brown box on the table. It was smooth and  
sanded, and there was a symbol on what appeared to be the lid.  
A tiny, light orange star in a circle of gold.  
Lyra gasped. "I read about this... It's the Galactic symbol for   
the North Star!"  
Opening the tiny box, Mina reveled to her daughter a tiny golden  
locket with the same orange star upon it.   
"It's called the Locket of Polaris." Serenity smiled. She knew   
that Mina, in her state, would forget that key fact.  
Lyra gasped and took the tiny circle in her hands. It felt   
exactly like Tara's... And she felt a sensation when she held it, one   
ten times stronger than that which she felt with Tara's locket...  
"Lyra, you are the Galactic Sailor called Sailor Polaris. The   
Sailor Scout of the North Star. You stand for all that is in the   
galaxy to protect." Mina began to cry a bit. "If you accept this   
locket, you accept the mission to protect the galaxy from harm. You   
accept the mission to fight alongside and to find the remaining   
Galactic Sailors, no matter the terms of the fight or the dangers you   
face. Do you accept these challenges along with the Locket of   
Polaris?"  
Holding tight the locket, the symbol of her own future and the   
future of the universe, she nodded. "I accept."   
Hugging her daughter, Mina began to cry. Such was her way.  
And with her mother, Sailor Polaris also wept.  
************   
  
"And then, if I carry the one..." Biting on a pencil eraser, the  
girl glared at the page of math homework. "No, that's not it either!"   
Phoebe slammed the textbook shut with a loud 'thump'. Standing   
up, she raised the back of her hand to her pale, banged forehead. "Oh,  
woe is me! What horrible fate lies ahead?" she exclaimed, staggering   
about her dark orange and crimson bedroom in an overly dramatic   
manner. "I cannot complete my matrixes... Whatever shall I do?"   
"You shall sit right back down and do that homework!" came a   
stern voice from the doorway.   
Phoebe whirled around to face a pair was lowered blue eyes. As   
vast as the sea, they stared at her, strict and severe.  
Blushing very deeply, the girl studied the tan carpet. "Hi,   
Mom." Diving for the desk and tearing through her math book to the   
right page, she looked up and smiled sweetly. "I was just doing my   
matrixes when you came in," Phoebe said, studying the problems that   
lay before her.  
Walking to her daughter, the doctor glanced at the page. "You   
dropped a negative," she corrected, running a hand through her own   
blue hair. "Right...there." She pointed a blue fingernail at the work   
that was scribbled all over the notebook's little lines. Seeing one of  
the doodles in the margin, she sighed.  
Phoebe grimaced at the sketch of Sailor Mars attacking her   
private school. "It's not like you think..."   
Crossing her arms under her chest, Amy looked at her daughter.   
"Really, Phoebe?"  
Blushing, she looked at the doodle with increasing guilt. "I   
just... It's harmless..." She looked up, ice blue eyes surveying her   
mother's face.  
"You know I hate going to Brighton, Mom!" she exclaimed,   
standing up to her full height. "It's an old, shapeless, ugly and   
really boring school... They don't even have a dance team!"  
"Brighton Academy is a school for geniuses, not dancers!" Amy   
retorted, waging a finger at her daughter. "And, besides, I spent some  
of the best years of my life at that school!"  
Phoebe could feel her temper build up inside her. Though she   
had not inherited her father's trademark of turning into a monster   
when provoked, she did have a short temper which was often accredited   
to him. She gulped. Should she take a shot at her mother?  
Looking at the world-famous pediatrician who had governed an   
entire hospital for years, she smiled evilly. Why not? With Amy,   
everyday was a science-based debate team contest, with a full-out   
mother daughter war, in most cases.  
"Then, why did you drop out?" asked her daughter, flipping some   
long, midnight blue hair behind her back. "And how is it that you made  
all of your best friends while at Crossroads?"  
Amy paled, sticking her hands into the pockets of her perfectly   
white lab coat. She looked positively ill. "That's none of your   
concern!" she snapped at her daughter.   
"Yes, it is!" Phoebe hollered back, her voice rattling the light  
brown house. "How do I know that you didn't drop out because   
Brighton's a lousy school?" she asked, putting her hands on her hips.  
"You can't. But you have to have some faith."  
"Faith? Mom, I hate private school. It's boring, and most the   
students there at least have friends." She sighed and looked back at   
the matrixes. "Besides, you're totally too tough on me. Just because I  
can't do matrixes..."  
Amy shook her head. "You can do matrixes. You love math,   
sweetie. You just don't apply yourself."  
"Apply, apply, apply! Can you imagine, Pheebs? I actually   
married this nag!" a new voice teased lovingly.  
Amy whirled around to face Greg, trying her best to glare   
itimadatingly. Phoebe giggled at her father.   
"I send her in to get you, and she turns this into a screaming   
contest about Brighton. Again..." Greg put his arm around his wife.   
"And, by the way, Phoebe, you won... They heard you down the block."  
Shaking her head, Phoebe smiled. "They did not!" she retorted,   
laughing.   
"That reminds me... We need to talk to you, Phoebe." Her   
mother's voice turned suddenly stern. "It's important."  
Phoebe grimaced and felt for the little round piece of jewelry   
that she had hanging around her neck. "The Eve?"  
Greg nodded. "It's very near. And there are already three other   
Galactic Sailors..." he trailed off, looking sad.  
Amy ruffled his dark hair. "I think that we'd best pay a visit   
to Serenity."  
"Why?" Phoebe's voice came across as urgent.  
"I want to find out which girls have been discovered. And how   
long it is until the Eve..." She smiled again. "And how hard it is to   
let a child accept." Swallowing hard, she glanced at the floor, a tear  
in her deep blue eyes.  
Greg took both the blue hair woman and the feisty girl into his   
arms. "My girls..." he murmured. "My two Sailor Ladies... Everything   
will work out. Promise."  
************   
  
"This is totally cool! And I though I knew everything about the   
stars!" Lyra ran a gold-painted fingernail over the star chart. "I   
didn't know that the Andromeda Galaxy is so beautiful!"  
"Hey, Mom," came Reeny's high voice over the sounds of Tokyo's   
Crystal Library. "Why are we studying the Andromeda Galaxy, anyway?"  
"Didn't you pay attention when we had the briefing in the   
parlor?" The black cat's voice rose over the din. "Diana! Will you   
please talk to that girl?"  
Diana yawned and looked, blinking, at her mother. "Oh, fine..."   
Glancing at Reeny with her red eyes, she shook her head. "Bad girl!"   
she scolded sleepily.  
Tara laughed at the exchange. Patting Luna, she sighed. "This   
whole thing about evil forces at work makes me slightly nervous. I've   
never dealt with real evil before..." she trailed off, nervously   
glancing at the book before her.  
"How old are you, dear?" asked the Queen, eyes warm and loving.  
"Thirteen... Your Highness."  
Reeny's eyes nearly removed themselves from their sockets.   
"You're only thirteen?" she asked, amazed. "Whoa."  
"The youngest by a good year..." Serenity nodded thoughtfully.   
"What do you feel right now?"  
Closing her eyes, Tara took a deep breath. "Sailor energy coming  
this way. Two Scouts..." Her breathing deepened. "Conflicting energies,  
but it's as though the two are related... I see blue hair..."   
"Amy..." Serenity smiled and looked back at her book. "Just as I  
thought. You are good at sensing things, young lady."  
"What makes you say that, Your Highness?" asked Tara, fidgeting   
a little.  
"Mistress Mercury and her teenage daughter, Phoebe, will be here  
in about fifteen minutes."  
Tara's eyes widened. "I could figure that out?"  
"Obviously." The Queen seemed to drop the conversation.  
Reeny smiled at her friend. "Can you do that creepy paper thing   
like your mom?" she whispered over the table.  
"What 'creepy paper thing'?" asked Lyra, glancing up from the   
star charts.  
Tara smiled slyly. "I can banish evil spirits from here to the   
Andromeda Galaxy and back."  
Lyra giggled. "How about aiming for the librarian?" she   
whispered, smiling.  
The black cat looked at the girl. "Lyra..." she warned.  
Lyra grimaced. "Shutting up..." she replied, scooting away from   
the cat.  
"What's wrong?" asked Reeny.  
Lyra glanced nervously at the cat. "I just hate black cats..."   
she trailed off.  
At that, Diana laughed. "My mom may be a nag, but she's not that  
bad, Lyra..."   
Lyra shook her head. "That's not it. I just...I'm kind of   
superstitious, that's all."  
Serenity raised her head and smiled a secretive smile. "That's   
alright, Lyra. Everyone is afraid of something."  
"Bees..." thought Tara aloud.  
"Turning into the teen version of Mom," Reeny smiled, getting a   
glare from the Queen.  
Lyra blushed. "But your fears have some foundation... No   
offence, Highness..." She shrugged. "Mine don't..."  
"Thunderstorms," Serenity said.  
"Excuse me?" asked Lyra, cocking her head.  
"I'm terrified of thunderstorms. Always have been." Serenity   
looked back into her book as though nothing had happened.  
"She is. You should see how clingy and nervous she becomes   
during a storm." A black haired man in rather elaborate military dress  
walked behind the Queen's chair and put his hands on her shoulders.   
"It's amazing to me that the Queen of the Earth is afraid of a little   
storm now and then."  
Lyra and Tara stared at each other. Having no idea who this man   
was, they both stared at their research material, blushing.   
"Daddy!" exclaimed Reeny, jumping a good mile into the air and   
nearly pouncing on the man. "I thought you had to be in Europe!" She   
gave him a hug.  
Endymion smiled. "The conference got out early." Seeing the two   
girls sitting, staring at star charts and books, he raised an eyebrow.  
"Reeny, darling, who are your friends?" he asked, smiling gently to   
the girls.  
Lyra blushed and looked up. "Galactic Sailor of Polaris," she   
said.  
"Galactic Sailor of the Earth," Tara called herself, bowing a   
bit.  
Endymion gasped. "Already?" he breathed, looking at his Queen.  
Serenity nodded, looking up. "They're so young, aren't they?"   
she asked, swallowing.  
Reeny looked at her father, seeing the fear in his blue eyes.   
"And I'm the Galactic Sailor of the Moon," she breathed, gulping.  
"This is so sudden," he said, shocked. "After all, you just got   
through being Sailor Chibi Moon."   
"Daddy! That was years ago... Ten, to be exact," she said,   
crossing her arms under her chest. "I am not a little girl anymore.   
And I am going to be Sailor Moon, like it or not!" Red eyes lowered to  
slits.  
"Now, that's not very fair to your father," came a new, female   
voice. It was slightly squeaky, but it had a commanding and almost   
eternal ring to it. "He never said that he was going to prevent you   
from your life as Sailor Moon."  
Five faces turned to glance in the direction that the voice   
originated. An adult woman with a white lab jacket on stood behind   
both Endymion and Serenity. Next to her was a teen girl with icy blue   
eyes. The girl wore worn-out jeans and a tank top. Both had blue hair,  
but the younger one's hair was more midnight blue than royal blue.  
"May I present the Mistress Mercury," Serenity smiled.  
The woman bowed. "Pleased to make your acquaintances."  
Walking forward, the new girl struck a dramatic pose. Midnight   
blue hair flying at odd angles, right hand high in the air and lift   
hand on her waist, she sighed. "Enchanted by a new age, I am the   
dramatically beautiful and powerful Phoebe!" She opened her arms   
widely. "I embrace all people and their own unique qualities. Come   
forth, children, and reap the fruits of my love!"  
Reeny looked helplessly at her two friends. "We're supposed to   
work with that?" she asked, surprised.  
Poking a pencil into the Princess' ribs without much care, Lyra   
smiled. "Hi! I'm Lyra."  
Tara poked at the binding of the book with her finger. "I'm   
Tara..." she ventured, unsure of what to say to such an exuberant   
person.  
"Pleased to meet you!" Plopping down in one of the library's   
wooden chairs, she smiled slyly. "I'm sure that we'll see a lot of   
each other. After all, what you are, I am!" She opened a book and   
began to read.  
"You must excuse her. She's a bit dramatic at times..." Amy   
shook her head.   
Phoebe sighed. "English translation-'She's not perfect, like me,  
so you're just plain stuck'." Phoebe kept reading her book, as thought  
the little passage was nothing important.  
Sighing, her mother rubbed her temples. "As if I haven't had a   
long enough day already..." muttering, she smiled at Serenity. Despite  
her headache and insane actress daughter, she was happy to see her old  
friend. "Well, Serenity, it seems as though you have done quite a good  
job of find the new Sailors," she said, sitting in a chair.  
Endymion smiled. "Too good... I didn't even know about it!" he   
replied, rubbing the back of the Queen.  
Serenity just kept her eyes on the book. "I try to do the best   
job I can..." Not even her expression wavered.  
Amy shook her head. "You're worried about the Eve of Mistresses,  
aren't you?" she asked, looking at her friend with a worried   
expression.  
"I didn't see it coming soon enough..." Serenity looked up and   
sighed deeply. "I didn't call a Meeting of Mistresses... I've been a   
stinky Queen."  
"Don't say that!" Endymion scolded, also sitting down. "You've   
done a great job!"  
"He's right," Amy said, looking down. "Meetings aren't   
important, and it didn't really matter if you saw it coming in   
advance..."  
"Huh?" asked the Queen, reverting back into her teenage   
vocabulary. "What do you mean by that?"   
"Phoebe's known since she was about six years old." Amy sighed.   
"She found the locket in my bedroom and asked me... Could I have   
lied?"  
"The Locket of the Sun... The Sailor Scout of Phoenix..."   
Serenity sighed deeply. "Amazing."  
Phoebe looked up after hearing Serenity's mention of the locket.   
"That's me. And, may I say, that locket is the single most beautiful   
thing that I have ever seen." Reaching under her shirt, the girl   
removed her locket. It was crimson with a darkened orange sun symbol   
engraved upon it.  
Tara, Reeny, and Lyra all looked at the locket. Indeed, it was   
beautiful.  
Tara took out the Locket of the Earth. Reeny removed from her   
chain the Locket of the Moon. Lifting a piece of silk from around her   
neck, Lyra began to add her locket to the congregation.  
"Don't do it!" warned Luna, jumping up.  
Too late.  
Sparks exploded all over. Streaks of energy flew throughout the   
room, illuminating the library with many colors, most of them bright   
and glowing.  
"Now you've done it!" scolded Diana, shutting her eyes to block   
the blinding radiance. "One of you guys have to brave the light and   
put your locket back on!"  
Serenity, who had shielded her eyes with a hand, sounded urgent.  
"And please hurry!"  
"This is ludicrous!" shouted Reeny, squinting. "Who knows what   
that stuff is going to do to us?"  
"What's going on?" Lyra cowered in her chair, afraid to move. "I  
can't even sense what it is!"  
Tara just shut her eyes and prayed.  
Phoebe, who was staring into the light show with an odd smirk,   
sighed. "Jeez! I don't see what you're so afraid of!" Plucking up the   
Locket of the Sun from the table top, she smiled as the lights died  
down and the sparks disappeared. "See?" she asked, hanging the   
disc-shaped item back around her neck.   
"What was that?" breathed Lyra, looking at her locket with   
caution.   
Serenity sighed. "One of you four have not yet accepted the   
challenge..." she responded, trailing off softly.  
"Challenge? What challenge?" asked Phoebe, looking at the Queen   
with a raised eyebrow. "Did I miss something?"  
"Bingo," muttered Reeny, polishing her locket on the Princess   
gown.  
Amy sighed. "I told you long ago of your identity, but I never   
gave you the terms of the challenge." The woman ran her hand through   
the shaggy, trademark blue hair. "Are you ready?"  
The girl shrugged, twirling a dark hair in her fingers. "Shoot."  
"Will you please try to take this seriously?" scolded the   
doctor, crossing her arms. "This isn't some math problem or B-plus   
exam, Phoebe. Perhaps the most serious thing in your life, this is."  
Phoebe took the tiny locket in her hand. "I understand."  
"Alright." Taking a very deep breath, the Mistress of Mercury   
looked to her daughter. "Your challenge is a many-sided venture,   
Phoebe. It encompasses working together with the other Galactic   
Sailors, no matter how stubborn they act. You must always fight for   
love, justice, and honor, and you have to be sure that no evil goes   
unopposed. You must hold all living things with a great respect, and   
oppose all who threaten the future-or the tradition of the past."   
Thinking of her life as Mercury, Amy smiled. "You must live your life   
as best you can, and defend the past by protecting the future. Do you   
accept the challenge?"  
Green eyes of a temple maiden looked on...  
Light brown eyes of a teen with seven siblings stared...  
Red eyes of a Princess, the blue eyes of both a Queen and her   
King... they were all just common bystanders.  
Ice blue eyes and eyes of the deepest blue locked. Mother and   
daughter exchanged unspoken words. All was silent, as though someone   
had stopped the turning of the planet in order to catch this one   
precise moment in history.  
And the world began turning again.  
"I accept," said Phoebe.  
************  
  
Stirring the pot of rice, an auburn haired girl looked around   
the tiny apartment. It was spotless, as always, and the beds were both  
made with hospital corners.  
"I'm quite proud of myself," Alice thought aloud, leaving the   
rice to warm on the back burner. "Whoever said that kids accomplish   
nothing on a day off of school?"  
Of course, she had blown off her sewing project for the third   
straight day in a row, but who was counting?  
Glancing at her watch, Alice noted, much to her delight, that it  
was seven p.m.  
"I know that opening the restaurant will take up a lot of my   
free time, Alice," her mother had said about a month previous, smiling  
sadly. "But, after about a year, we'll be off on the right foot and   
I'll have much more time on my hands."  
Fondly recalling her mother's little speech, the girl sat down   
and focused her brown eyes on the lump of various fabric on the coffee  
table. It was supposed to be a patchwork quilt... Instead, it looked   
like Dr. Frankenstein's monster.  
"Oh, well..." Sighing, she flipped on the television. "I think   
there's a good movie on..."  
A few minutes later, a voice overcame the sounds of the movie   
and directed itself at Alice.  
"I am not seeing this!" it exclaimed. "I am not seeing my lovely  
daughter watch a made-for-TV movie while her much neglected quilt lays  
on the table, discarded!" Lita crossed her arms and lowered her deeply  
green eyes. "Tell me what I am seeing, Alice Aurora Kino..."  
"Uh..." The girl blushed and looked at the fabric ball. "I was   
just going to work on that..." She fumbled for the scissors.   
"When will you learn?" the older female asked, picking up a   
finished section of the quilt. "You need to stop procrastinating and   
start doing, young lady." Her voice was stern, but still had an edge   
of love in it.  
"Hey, I cleaned the whole apartment, top to bottom!" protested   
the girl from her place on the couch. "You can't yell at me!"  
"Want to bet, Alice? I can yell at you until my face turns   
orange, because I am your mother and you are going to fail sewing!"   
Tossing down her piece of the quilt, Lita walked to the kitchenette,   
which was more an extension of the living room than an actually room   
on its own accord.  
"Please don't be mad, Mom," said Alice, staring at her project.   
Lita sighed and dished out two plates of rice. "I'm not mad,   
I'm...exasperated." She paused and added some chicken to the plates.   
"There's a difference. And this dinner looks really good."  
"Thanks." Stitching up a seam of the project, she smiled sadly.   
"I'm sorry it's just me and you."  
"I'm not!" retorted the woman, handing her daughter a plate. "If  
I were married, we wouldn't even have a restaurant!"  
Alice smiled at the quip and dropped the subject. "I signed up   
for a peer tutor program at school," she said, picking at her chicken.   
"Are you tutoring or being tutored?" Lita took a heaping forkful  
of chicken. "Mm... Alice, you have developed the Kino touch, young   
lady."  
She blushed. "I'm tutoring for Biology. My charge is this   
thirteen-year-old who has never been in public school before."  
"Really?" Her mother's interest had been caught on that tiny   
detail, and she watched her daughter with wide eyes.  
"Yeah. I guess her mom's some sort of temple lady and she's home  
schooled this kid about Shintoism all her... What?"  
Lita had dropped her fork and knife on the floor. Regaining her   
composure, she shook her head. "Nothing..."  
"Something," responded Alice, putting her plate on the table and  
resting her elbows on her knees. "What is it?"  
"Remember my friend Raye?"  
"The one who got smashed at the Palace Christmas party and   
started raving about Dark Messiahs?" asked Alice. She remembered that   
event well...  
"No, that was Michelle..." Lita smiled at that one. "Raye was   
the one who whined about her 'baby' and leaving her with a   
babysitter."  
"Oh!" Alice counted on her fingers quickly. "Wasn't that kid,   
like, five, by then?" she asked, thinking.  
"Yep." Lita smiled and ate more. "I think that you've got Raye's  
'baby' as a charge."  
"Whoa." Everyone knew that Raye's temper was second to none.   
Alice wasn't thrilled about tutoring some kid that was like Raye...  
"My sentiments exactly," responded her mother.  
************  
  
"It's really nice of you to tutor me," Tara said quietly,   
walking with the older girl. "I've never before attended real school."  
"So I've heard..." Alice kicked a stone and smiled at the thin   
and extremely tall girl. Tara had to be around five seven or so, and   
she dwarfed even Alice.   
An awkward silence followed. Both girls had their traditional   
Crossroads Junior High outfits on, though Alice was near to attending   
the High School. Tara had been placed in the Junior High, though her   
marks were not quite high enough. Her knowledge of ancient history had  
pulled her through precisely at the border.  
"Hey, you know what?" A memory of the previous night fluttered   
into Alice's mind. "Our mothers know one another!"  
"Really?" Green eyes grew wide.  
"Yep." Running a hand through the shoulder-length auburn hair,   
Alice explained. "When I was about seven, I got dragged to this boring  
Christmas party at Crystal Palace with my mom."  
A light went off in Tara's brain. Crystal Palace?  
"And, I guess, your mom was there. You were younger at the time   
and she was sort of worried about you in a totally wicked way. And   
then, some funny lady named Michelle got smashed..." She smiled.   
"That's not the point, though. My point here is that your mom and my   
mom know each other and I think that is totally wicked cool!"  
Rolling her eyes, Tara nodded. If Alice's mother knew the crisp   
temple maiden, that meant chances two-to-one in favor of her being a   
Planet Mistress. After all, few were left. And if she was a   
Mistress...  
Looking at the girl beside her, Tara shook her head a bit.   
Alice didn't seem to be made of much Sailor material. She was kind   
of...bubbly and unstructured. Tara liked structure. Structure was a   
good thing. And Alice seemed to be clinically lacking structure in her  
life.  
"So, you live with both parents?" asked Tara quietly.  
Alice blushed and stared at the pavement. "What makes you ask?"  
"I thought everyone has two parents-a mother and a father.   
According to my mother, High Priestess of the Shinto Religion, parents  
should be respected and live in household of peace and harmony." Tara   
bowed her head in and reverent motion. "That's just what I had always   
been told."  
"What a nice little dream world you live in!" commented Alice   
without sarcasm. "But, sometimes, there aren't two parents or the   
parents are both mothers, or both fathers, or there aren't parents at   
all..." Sighing, Alice looked at the black haired girl. "I don't know   
who my father is, and I don't know if my mother knows who he is,   
either... It's just me and Mom."  
No structure...  
Calling the Shinto realization of the world a "dream world"...  
"Don't you think that calling my world a 'dream world' is a bit   
harsh?" spoke up the younger girl, pulling on a piece of hair gently.   
"I mean, I've never really been outside the temple, and you find it   
necessary to criticize the life I live."  
"It's a dream world, Tara," huffed Alice. She didn't seem cocky   
or arrogant, just...right, perhaps? "Because you have not yet seen the  
real world, you hide in the world that you have had created for you.   
I'm not making fun of it, I am just saying that it is possibly not   
true."   
Tara sighed. She didn't like the way Alice was acting one bit.   
She may have had a point, but she didn't have a nice way about sharing  
that point...  
"Here we are!" Walking up to a large apartment complex and using  
a key card, Alice through open the door. "Apartment 4B-up the stairs   
three times and hang a left. I'm going to grab the mail first."  
Tara climbed the stairs, gripping the keycard in a hand and   
thinking to herself.  
"If Alice is a Sailor, she has a Galactic locket..." She said   
aloud, quickening her pace. "And the box would be in her apartment..."  
Opening the door, Tara placed her backpack on the floor. A   
living room opened to a kitchenette. Two bedrooms were in the back,   
seemingly connected to a tiny bathroom.  
Hearing Alice's feet on the stairs, Tara dove for the first   
bedroom and closed herself in the bathroom. It had little ducks on the  
wall tile and smelled of tea...  
"Are you here?" came a voice.  
"I'll be right out, Alice. I'm in the washroom." Tara gulped and  
listened for her response.  
"Alright. I'm going to make some green tea."  
"My favorite!" Having yelled her reply, Tara opened the cabinets  
in the bathroom. Nothing.   
Cracking the door, she glanced around the larger of the two   
rooms. It was light green and pink, with wall hangings of various odd   
symbols.   
"Weird place..." Tara ducked into the room. She felt dirty   
wandering around a strange apartment and looking for brown boxes with   
Galactic symbols...  
One of the wall hangings caught her attention. It had five   
symbols on it, and they were none other than the Galactic Symbols.  
Earth...  
Polaris, the North Star...  
Phoenix, the Sun...  
And the fourth symbol, a wavy shape that looked like a flag...  
Aurora Borealis.  
Gasping, Tara frantically glanced about the room. The shelves   
were pretty much clear of clutter, but no boxes stood out.  
Then, something caught her eye.  
A tiny box sitting on the nightstand.  
Picking it up, Tara evaluated the symbol.  
Aurora Borealis.  
Sailor Aurora Borealis, the Sailor of Light, was none other than  
Alice Kino.  
Which made her mother, whoever she was, the Mistress of Jupiter.  
************  
  
Alice looked out the window at the sun. Setting over the city,   
it cast an eerie glow that probably would have given a Sailor Solider   
the creeps...  
She impulsively turned on a lamp. The hatred she felt for   
darkness radiated somewhere deep within her...in some subconscious   
part of her.  
Tara had spent a good hour talking about the Sailor Soldiers and  
the Planet Mistresses and other silly things that seemed too much like  
fantasy. Sure, they existed, and everyone knew it, but that didn't   
mean the girl had to go on and on about them...  
"And that locket..." thought the girl aloud, picking up her   
sewing project.   
When Tara had given Alice her little Earth shaped locket to   
hold, Alice had gotten some sort of sensation running through her   
veins. It was strong, and it made her feel a rush and power that she   
had never felt before. Something about that locket...  
Hearing the door shut, she smiled a bit. "Hi Mom." Her eyes   
didn't look up from the fabric.  
"What's wrong, Alice?" asked Lita, depositing her purse on the   
couch. "You haven't yet started dinner."   
"You're late." Her voice was as cold as ice.  
Her mother blushed. "I'm really sorry about that, dear," she   
responded, going to the tiny refrigerator and removing some leftover   
macaroni-and-cheese and grabbing two Diet Cokes. "I had to be at the   
Palace..."  
"Why?" Alice asked, looking up at her mother with wide eyes.   
"And why didn't you tell my about it?"  
Lita sighed and put the dish in the microwave. "I just...had to.  
And I didn't know until today the my presence was required." The hum   
of the microwave oven was loud, and it drowned out the sound of a   
tired sigh.  
The girl put down her sewing. "I want the whole truth, Mom," she  
said abruptly, sitting back in her chair. "I want to hear the true   
story of who you are."  
The woman was shocked. Alice had never spoken so dryly, so   
curtly, and it was not of her nature to be blunt. Removing the dish of  
pasta and taking two plates and forks to the table, she began to   
explain.  
"My name is Lita Kino. My parents were killed in a place crash   
years ago. When I was young. In the twentieth century."  
Alice gasped. "That makes you..."  
"Thousands of years old. That's right. And I am able to be so   
old because of who I am. The Mistress of Jupiter.  
"I was born during the Silver Millennium. I'm not sure where, or  
how long I lived there, or how my being Jupiter came to pass. All I   
know is that I lived in the Silver Millennium, it was destroyed, and I  
was reborn in twentieth century Tokyo to kind and humbling parents.  
"They died, and Sailor Moon, the Champion of Justice, found me   
and I joined her cause. We fought side by side for years, along with   
other Soldiers...  
"Tara's mother is a Sailor, isn't she? And so is the woman who   
got smashed, and the Queen, and your buddy Mina..." Alice's brown eyes  
were wide with amazement. "They're all Sailor Soldiers!"  
Lita sighed. "Not for long. Soon, the Eve of Mistresses will   
come, and we will be Planet Mistresses, sworn defensive protectors of   
the Universe. And six new characters will take charge-the Galactic   
Sailors of the Moon, Earth, North Star, Sun, Light, and of Comets. And  
they will rule eternally."   
Alice listened as her mother spoke. Something seemed to change   
in the green eyes; years were lifted off her face and she seemed to be   
reborn, her smile lighting up the room. The girl secretly wondered if   
all the Planet Mistresses were the same way.  
"And you, dearest child, are the Galactic Sailor Aurora   
Borealis. The Sailor of Light."  
The auburn-haired teen gasped loudly. Her brown eyes grew very   
wide. She stared at her mother, shocked. "Me? A Sailor?" she asked,   
nearly choking on her dinner.  
Lita got up and walked to her room. Her daughter tried to calmly  
sip the Diet Coke, but instead spilled it down the front of her shirt.   
Me? A Scout? Alice thought to herself as she wiped the drink off  
her clothing. I don't think I'll be a very good Sailor Soldier... I   
can't even sew.  
"Alice?" Lita came into the living room, frantic, pulling on her  
big, green parka. "We have to go to Crystal Palace right away. Grab   
your coat."  
The girl raised an eyebrow. "Why? What's wrong?" she asked,   
following the urgent command.  
"Every of the Galactic Sailors has a special locket. And I have   
yours... Sorry, I had yours..." She trailed off and grabbed her purse.  
Alice was perplexed. "What does that mean?" she asked, pulling   
on her shoes.  
"Your locket is missing, Alice."  
************  
  
"Reeny, can you keep a secret?" Tara asked urgently.  
The Princess, who was sitting on the kitchen counter, swinging   
her legs absently, looked up from her ice cream. "Sure, Tara. What's   
wrong?"  
Picking at a loose thread in her temple robes, Tara swallowed   
hard. "I found out who Sailor Aurora Borealis is..."  
Reeny smiled and clapped her hands like a small child would.   
"Great! That means we only have to find one more Sailor! Where's is   
she?"  
Tara shrugged. "At home, I suppose. I don't think she's going to  
join up with us."  
"Why?" Reeny arched her eyebrows.   
Tara mumbled something very, very softly.   
"Huh?"  
"I kind of... stole the Locket of Light..." Tara whispered, not   
looking up.  
"YOU WHAT?" exclaimed Reeny, jumping off the counter and   
knocking her bowl onto the floor. "How in the name of Heaven did you   
do that? And why, in the name of the Moon Kingdom, would you want to   
do something so...bull-headed and stupid?" She sighed deeply and began  
to clean up the discarded dessert.  
The Sailor of the Earth sighed. Why had she done it? I can't   
tell Reeny that I just don't like her, thought Tara. That would be   
extremely stupid. "Uh... I didn't think she was good Scout material,"   
she lied, helping the Princess clean up her mess.  
Reeny stood and crossed her arms under her chest, getting   
chocolate ice cream on the gown. She didn't care much, either. "You   
just didn't like her, did you?"  
"I would attack both Heaven and Hell to save this world, and you  
know it! And I wouldn't do something to compromise the safety of Earth  
unless I felt it was completely necessary."  
"So, you really don't like her?" asked Reeny, throwing the bowl   
into the sink. "This doesn't make sense, Tara. You seem much more   
level-headed than you're acting."  
"I just... I got weird vibes from her, Reeny," attempted the   
blushing temple maiden. "I get weird vibes from you, and Lyra, and   
even Phoebe sometimes, too."  
"Obviously." Reeny held out a hand. "Give me the Locket of   
Light, Tara."  
The girl shied away. "No..." she trembled. When Reeny wanted   
something, she could be pretty intimidating.  
"Yes. We're going to give it back to that girl!" Reeny commanded.  
Tara removed from her pocket the little pendant. "Here..." she   
said, handing it over.  
It was lavender and midnight blue, with a bit of gold trimming.   
The symbol looked a bit like a flag waving in the wind, and it shed a   
bit of...glow? Light? Reeny couldn't tell.  
"Alright. Let's go up to the parlor and explain to my mother.   
Then, we can call the girl and her mother..."  
"Mistress Jupiter." Tara sighed, blushing. "I'm sorry, Reeny...   
Something just...came over me when I saw that box."  
"It's okay, Tara," Reeny said, putting her hand on the other's   
shoulder. "It's not too late...yet..."  
"What do you mean?" Tara ran a hand through her long hair.  
"Never mind." Reeny exited the kitchen with grace.  
"Does she always talk in riddles?" thought Tara aloud, running   
after her friend.  
************   
  
"Oh, dear... My, oh, my... This is an interesting problem,   
Jupiter." Queen Serenity sat, as always, on her tattered old couch.   
Her dress was perfectly white, as always, and her blue eyes shone   
knowingly.   
"I know, Your Highness. I cannot, for the life of me, figure out  
where it went." Lita slammed her fist onto the end table near her   
chair. "When I find out who stole it..."  
"Mother," warned Alice, sitting a little taller in her seat,   
"watch it..."  
"Sorry, sweetie." The Mistress of Jupiter recoiled her hand and   
stroked her long ponytail instead. "It just makes me very angry. I   
can't imagine who would do such a thing..."  
Alice shrugged, and quietly sighed. "I haven't the faintest who   
would steal a locket. The only two people in the apartment today were   
me and Tara."  
"Tara?" Serenity's eyes grew to astronomical proportions.   
"She's a girl from Crossroads, but she a whole lot younger than   
me." Watching Serenity, Alice grew concerned. The Queen didn't seem to  
be breathing. "She just entered the school, and she doesn't seem to   
know what she's doing, because she's always been home-schooled... Are   
you okay, Highness? You seem pale."  
Serenity let out a tiny gasp and clutched her chest a bit. "I'm   
fine... Luna," she spoke to the black cat which was sitting on the   
floor, "find Diana, Reeny, and Tara and bring those three here."  
The cat nodded and was off.  
"You don't think that Tara's behind this, do you?" asked Alice,   
growing a bit defensive. "I mean, she can be pretty cranky and she's   
definitely in denial of how the world really works, but I don't think   
she stole that locket... What?" The glances she was receiving from   
both the Queen, her mother, and the white cat that remained in the   
room made her blush.  
Serenity turned grim. "Tara is the Galactic Sailor of the Earth.  
She was chosen to be the Sailor of the Earth by age, but she holds   
this world in a special place. The Shinto worship nature, and bow down  
to a Sun Goddess. Tara is the incarnation of all those beliefs.   
"If you did not get along with Tara-and I can tell that you and   
her are of conflicting personas-she may have stolen the locket,   
knowing that your disagreement on the ways of the universe could   
possibly affect the abilities of the Sailors."  
Carefully taking this in, Alice sighed deeply. Serenity, in her   
regal and non-threatening manner, was announcing the way things were   
in the world Alice was about to enter-the world of the Scouts. And she  
had quite a point.  
"I understand." Twirling an auburn hair in her first finger and   
thumb, she looked to the floor. "I understand."  
************  
  
Tara and Reeny walked in silence. The marble halls echoed with   
the sounds of footfalls hitting the floor. In one hand, Tara gripped   
the sides of her temple robes. In the other, she held the Locket of   
Light.  
Reeny shook her head slowly as they walked. What a stupid kid,   
she thought to herself. She's going to have to learn a whole lot to   
make it as a Scout. I hope she learns.  
"I'm sorry, Reeny. I know what you're thinking, and I'm sorry. I  
just thought that it would all work out better if we let Alice be a   
normal kid..."  
Note to myself, Reeny thought. Tara can read minds.  
Just then, Diana and Luna came running up. "You two are needed   
right way!" Luna exclaimed.  
Diana nodded. "The would-be Sailor Aurora Borealis is here, and   
her locket is missing!"  
Tara blanched. Reeny stared at the floor.  
"What?" asked Diana, sweat-dropping. "Did I say something   
wrong?"  
Luna sighed. "I think we found our culprits." She clicked her   
tongue against her teeth. "Why did you two take Aurora's locket?"  
Reeny's eyes popped open, wide and surprised. "I didn't do   
anything!" Diana and Luna looked at one another. "Seriously! It wasn't  
me this time!" The cats sighed in unison. "Why don't you two ever   
believe me?"  
"I did it." Tara's voice was soft and resigned. She stared at   
the ground and held out the locket. "I took the locket."  
"Earth, how could you?" asked Luna. "I mean, Tara... Sorry..."  
"It doesn't matter. The point is, I took it, and the   
Princess..."  
"Didn't! Ha ha! Told you so!" Reeny stuck out her tongue.  
Diana snickered. "Whatever you say... 'Serena'..."  
"I am not acting like Mom! I am not!" Reeny protested, throwing   
a fit in the hall.  
Luna sighed. Those two fought like sisters, not guardian and   
charge... "We'd best get Aurora's locket back to her..."  
Tara sighed. "Alright..."  
************  
  
"How could you steal my locket?" Alice was livid. She usually   
didn't have much of a temper, but when she got mad, all hell broke   
lose. "It was mine! And besides, I let you into my home, gave you tea,  
helped you with your bio homework, and, all the while, you were   
sitting around with my locket, the Locket of Light, in your pocket! I   
should throttle you, Tara!"  
Tara stood, staring at the floor. "I didn't think you'd make a   
very good Scout," she commented softly.  
"That's not your decision to make, now is it?" Alice bristled,   
angry. "This wasn't fair to me! Who do you think you are?" she asked,   
pacing and clutching her locket to her chest. "I'll show you!" She   
held the locket high. "Aurora Borealis Galactic Power..."  
"I wouldn't do that if I were you..." commented Serenity,   
closing her eyes.  
"Make-up!" Alice yelled.  
A giant flash of blinding light appeared, filling the room.  
Reeny dove behind a couch, screaming. Tara grimaced and began to pray.  
Luna and Diana hid under a chair. Lita covered her head in a pillow.  
Serenity sat on her couch, silent, with her eyes closed. "Happy   
yet, Alice?"  
Alice's voice was weak. "What's happening?"  
"You tried to use the locket without first accepting the   
challenge of being a Sailor. And now, you are blinding us all."  
"And how do I stop this?"  
"First, did you learn your lesson? Did you learn not to act on   
impulse?" The Queen's voice was stern.  
"Yes..." Alice sighed.  
The Imperium Silver Crystal appeared before Serenity. Sucking   
all the light out of the room, the little orb promptly disappeared.  
Reeny came out from behind the couch. "Is everything okay in   
here?" she asked, brushing herself off.  
"And you, young lady, should be better prepared to use the   
Silver Crystal, should that danger arrive." Serenity glanced at her   
daughter. "Running and hiding never got me anywhere, and it won't help  
you, either."  
Diana, from her hiding place, sniggered. "Reeny's turning into   
her mother... Ow! Watch it, Ma!"  
Alice held her locket. "So, what's this challenge I have to   
accept."  
Lita grimaced. "I forgot all about that. Alice, do you accept   
defending the universe?"  
"I do."  
"Do you accept protecting all the innocent from whatever evil   
does arrive?"  
"I do."  
"Do you accept..." Lita paused, swallowing hard. "Do you accept   
the challenge of working alongside all the other Scouts for the good   
of the universe?"  
Alice remained silent, thinking of what a jerk Tara had already   
been. Do I really want to work alongside that? she asked herself.  
Thinking of a universe taken over by evil, Alice sighed. Do I   
really have a choice?  
"I do. I accept the challenge of being a Sailor Scout."  
Lita smiled at her daughter, knowing that those few words had   
just changed their lives.  
"Welcome to the Scouts, Sailor Aurora Borealis."  
************  
  
"Maybe this just isn't working out, Michelle!" Alex cried   
loudly, yelling at the aqua haired woman that sat across the table.  
"I think you're right, Alexandra! None of this seems to go as   
it's supposed to anymore!"  
"Fine!"  
"Fine!"  
SLAM!  
Haley, a brown haired teen who was sitting on the couch, began   
to count down. 3...2...1...  
SLAM!  
"Hmmm... That was a three-second delay. Michelle's really   
getting mad today." Hannah looked up from her university readings.   
"You'd think that they were an old married couple."  
"Technically, they are," commented Haley, not glancing up from   
her newspaper. "I mean, they've raised both of us from scratch   
and...you know..."  
Hannah shook her head. "Why can't you say it? It's not a dirty   
word, and most everybody is supportive."  
"I don't see what you mean, Hannah." Haley turned the page.  
"Say it. Say what you were about to say." She looked at the   
younger girl with cautious purple- almost black- eyes.   
Haley laughed. "Say what? I was just going to mention that they   
live together." She blushed and looked up at the older girl. Aqua eyes  
met purple.  
"You are such a little prude, Haley! You are afraid to admit   
that our parents are two lesbians!"  
Haley blushed a deep crimson and focused on the floor.   
"I am not." Her voice lacked conviction.  
Hannah stood to her full height. "You think you're awfully   
special, don't you? You are such a pathetic little kid. You're just   
this goody-goody that sucks up to Alex and Michelle and expects to get  
everything she wants." She put her hands on her two slender hips.   
Hannah had been a very quiet girl, but the arrival of the younger   
child had turned her into a rather bitter person.  
Haley felt her anger building up. She wasn't usually a person   
who got into fights, but Hannah seemed to set her off. "I am not a   
goody-goody! And I don't get everything I want! You take that back!"  
"No way, you little music-school reject! You are such a snob!"   
Hannah yelled at her adopted 'sister'.  
"I am not! And, at least my dad didn't try to possess me with   
the spirit of some evil entity!" Haley yelped, clenching her fists and  
jumping off the couch. "You're nothing but a snot! I wish you had   
never been reborn!"  
"I wish that Alex and Michelle had never been dumb enough to   
adopt you!" Hannah screamed.  
"I wish Sailor Saturn would cut your head off with the Silence   
Glaive!"  
Hannah blanched. "Where'd that come from?" she asked,   
swallowing.  
"And I wish that Sailor Uranus would get you-good-with the Space  
Sword! And I wish that Sailor Neptune would get you with her Mirror   
thingie! And I wish I were a Sailor Scout so that I could kick you   
into next week!" Haley wasn't giving up with her tirade.  
"You're just a rotten little brat!" retorted Hannah, forgetting   
about all the Scout-related comments. "And you think that-just because  
you're a stupid little Galactic Sailor..."  
"What'd you say?" asked Haley, stopping in mid-sentence. "A   
Galactic Sailor?"  
Hannah had caught her mistake. "Nothing..."  
"I'm a Sailor?" Running to find the two adults, Haley ignored   
her sister.  
Hannah paled and then blushed. "Alex and Michelle are going to   
kill me..."  
************  
  
Alexandra had short, straight, and slightly spiky blond hair.   
She sat at the kitchen table, eating salad quietly. All was well since  
she and Michelle had made up, but everyone was oddly silent.  
Indeed, the whole 'family' was eating as well. Michelle had made  
her specialty, which was Japanese meat strips, and both she and Hannah  
seemed to be enjoying them. Haley, the vegetarian of the group, ate   
some pan-fired noodles left over from nights before. Everyone was   
content.  
Until Hannah spoke. "The Eve of Mistresses is upon us."  
Michelle began to choke and took a long sip of water. "Excuse   
me?" she gasped, turning a greenish color. She appeared to be quite   
prepared to vomit.  
"The Eve of Mistresses is upon us," Hannah repeated, gingerly   
eating. "Tonight, at midnight, the Silence will come."  
Alexandra threw down her fork onto the table. "Oh no you won't!   
I don't care who you are or who you think you are, Hannah, but there   
aren't going to be any 'Silence Glaive Surprises' tonight."  
"Alex..." warned Michelle firmly.  
"I swear it, Hannah," she continued, ignoring the moderating   
force which sat across from her. "If you pull anything, we'll all come  
after you. I promise."  
"Do you forget what the Eve of Mistresses is, Alexandra?" asked   
Hannah coolly. She stood slowly, laying her napkin on her chair. "I   
will be at the meeting with the rest of you. And then, the world will   
end." She began to vanish. "And none of you can stop me."   
She was gone.  
Michelle and Alexandra looked at one another, not talking.  
"Excuse me?" came a soft voice.  
Both looked at Haley, and then back at one another.  
"Get your shoes on, Haley. We have to go to the Palace."   
Alexandra was immediately in action.  
"I am not getting into a car with you," retorted Haley, still   
eating. "And does this whole thing have anything to do with that   
Galactic Sailor thing Hannah mentioned? Am I really a Sailor?"  
"Not yet. And if we don't get to that Palace, you never will   
be." Michelle threw on a parka and took out a small disc. "Alex?"  
Stuffing something brown into her pocket, Alexandra nodded.   
"Uranus Mistress Power!" She took Haley's hand.  
"Neptune Mistress Power!" Michelle took Haley's other hand.  
"Teleport!" they announced in unison.  
************  
  
"So, let me get this straight," Haley breathed, looking down at   
the little brown box that Alexandra had placed in her hands. "You two   
are Sailors Neptune and Uranus, Hannah is Sailor Saturn, and Auntie   
Susan is really Sailor Pluto."  
"So far, so good," commented Alex.   
Haley took a deep breath. "And I am a Sailor named Sailor   
Comet?"  
"Correct," Michelle said. She stopped and looked into the deep   
aqua eyes of her daughter. "Now, I am required to ask you the   
following questions."  
"And I am too, so bear with us." Alex cleared her throat and   
took a deep breath. "Do you accept the challenge of protecting the   
world, no matter how bleak the future promises to be?" she asked.  
"Yes." Haley looked at the box with its strange comet symbol.   
Beautiful...  
Michelle, in her high and melodic voice, took her turn. "Will   
you promise to work together with the other Galactic Sailors for the   
good of universe, no matter your personal opinion of each?"  
"Yes." Haley opened the box as Alex took over.  
"Do you promise to use your powers for only good?"  
"Yes..." The locket inside the box was the most beautiful thing   
she had ever seen. The comet was orange, with a silver tail. The   
locket itself was orange as well. Haley gasped despite herself.  
"Haley, do you accept the heartache, the power, the beauty, the   
sorrow, the wonder, and the challenge of being the Sailor Scout of the  
Comets?" Michelle's voice seemed to gain an eternal quality. It   
carried through the marble halls, echoing, reverberating, and rumbling   
through the cavernous entity that was Crystal Palace.  
"I do." Haley held the locket high. "I do!"  
************  
  
"I call the Meeting of Mistresses to order." Serenity's blue   
eyes were sad, mournful, and yet strong. From her seat in the middle   
of the parlor, her voice filled the room with a firm quality.  
The black, white, and pink cats all sat in a line upon a small   
chair. The two older cats looked grim and adult, but the youngest   
looked positively bored.   
"The Eve of Mistresses," Luna said solemnly. "A night that will   
change all of your lives forever." Her auburn eyes scanned the room.   
Six Galactic Sailors... eight adult and 'normal' women... and one   
Queen of the Earth.  
The white cat smiled a bit. "Tonight is the night of the True   
Planet Mistresses. Tonight, your powers are simply defensive."  
The little pink cat yawned. The others looked at her. Her   
magenta eyes grew wide. "Oh! My turn!" She smiled at the crowd. "I'm   
supposed to tell you what's going to happen tonight. I'm no good at   
this guardian stuff, but...  
Luna growled.  
"Okay, sorry." Her face turned serious. "At midnight tonight,   
you will no longer be able to transform into Sailor Soldiers, with the  
exception of Sailor Pluto. You will, from now and forever, be stuck   
using your Planet Mistress Powers." She smiled. "Okay, Ma, I'm done."  
Luna hung her head and sighed. Taking a deep breath and putting   
on a determined face, she looked up. "And, tonight, the Galactic   
Sailors will take over the official and offensive duties of protecting  
the Universe."  
Serenity placed her hands in her lap. "Our Galactic Sailors are   
going to introduce themselves."  
"We are?" the Princess asked from her lounge chair.   
Serenity smiled, swallowing and groaning inwardly. "Yes, you   
are."  
Reeny pulled herself from her plush seat. She threw a pink   
pigtail over her shoulder. "I'm Princess Reeny, and I'm the Galactic   
Sailor of the Moon. Please don't bow, or call me Princess, 'cause I   
hate it." She sat down.  
The pink cat sighed and watched as the next Scout stood.  
"My name is Tara. All my life, I have held nature highly. I am   
Shinto, and my religion believes deeply in the power of natural   
forces." She looked at the woman sitting next to her. "I am Sailor   
Earth, the daughter of Mistress Mars."  
The blonde popped up. "I'm Lyra. I love stars! And astronomy!   
And I really like all the people I've met here... Though I think this   
Palace couldn't get much creepier if it tried!" She smiled widely.   
"I'm Venus' kid, and I'm also Sailor Polaris."  
Luna nodded to the next girl.   
"I am the marvelous Phoebe, the eternal Queen of everything and   
all." Seeing the glance she was receiving from her mother, she bit her  
lip. "Uh...I'm the daughter of Mercury and I'm also Sailor Phoenix.   
Thanks." She sat down.  
The next girl rose, auburn hair flowing about her shoulders.   
"I'm not really pretty, or smart, or anything special, and I didn't   
think that I'd make a good Sailor Scout at first. But, when my locket   
was stolen, I knew I would." She glanced disdainfully at Tara. "I am   
Alice. Sailor Aurora Borealis. And my mother is Mistress Jupiter."  
Haley slunk farther into her seat as Alice sat down. She felt   
out of place-she was elder than the rest of the girls, and she was the  
only one whose real parents weren't present. But, when the black cat   
looked at her with those impossibly auburn eyes, she stood.   
"My name is Haley. I am the adopted child of Mistresses Uranus   
and Neptune. As long as I can recall, Hannah-that's Saturn-and Susan-  
Pluto-have been important parts of my life. They are my 'sister' and   
my 'aunt'.  
"I don't know what I'm doing here, and I don't really think this  
is the best position for me to be in. I'm not even a real Scout by   
blood."  
Michelle looked at her daughter with large teal eyes. "Destiny,"  
she said, "waits for no Sailor."  
Haley nodded. "Whatever caused me to be a Sailor, and whatever   
power endows me the ability to remain a Sailor, I know not. But, I do   
know this-I'm going to be the best damn Sailor Comet that the world   
can have." She bowed. "Thank you."  
Hannah, clad in a long, purple dress, stood suddenly. The   
grandfather clock read five minutes to midnight. "This has all been   
fun. I do love you all dearly, but the Galactic Sailors will not be   
able to fight the new evil that is coming. I must call the Silence."  
Sailor Pluto, who was the only in attendance wearing a fuku,   
looked at Hannah. "Don't, Sailor Saturn. Don't do this to yourself. Or  
to us."  
"I'm sorry, Susan." She sighed. "I love you. And Michelle. And   
Alex. But I've got to do this."  
Luna looked at the six stunned Galactic Sailors. "Don't just sit  
there! Transform!"  
Saturn raised a hand into the air. "Saturn Planet Power...Make   
Up!"  
Phoebe jumped up and grabbed her locket. "Come on, you dopes! We  
can't just sit around on our butts while Saturn kills the world.   
Phoenix Galactic Power... Make Up!"  
"Moon Galactic Power... Make Up!"  
"Earth Galactic Power... Make Up!"   
"Polaris Galactic Power... Make Up!"   
"Aurora Borealis Galactic Power-whew, what a mouthful... Make   
Up!"  
"Comet Galactic Power... Make Up!"  
Six lockets were raised high into the air as voice spoke in   
unison.  
"Scout Power!"  
************  
  
Somewhere, far away in the Andromeda Galaxy, a brown robed man   
opened his eyes slowly. He looked at the starry night sky through an   
ancient telescope. Looking at the Milky Way, he smiled. Sun, Earth,   
Moon, North Star, Haley's Comet... all were aligned. And he knew, in   
the Northern reaches of Earth, the Aurora Borealis flickered brightly.  
"It is time," he breathed, looking to the two women and two men   
behind him. "Tell the king that Earth is ready to be ours."  
"The day has arrived?" asked one of the women. She was a well-  
figured woman in tight green clothing.  
"Yes... It has..." The brown robed man cackled.   
"Oh, don't do that!" said the woman, exiting the room. "I hate   
it when you have to cackle!"  
************  
  
Sailor Saturn stood before the group of Galactic Sailors. The   
six girls were a motley mix of colors-crimson, orange, gold, midnight   
blue, silver, pink... All seemed a bit apprehensive of the woman that   
had previously been well known as the Dark Messiah.  
"You can't fight me!" Saturn raised her hand and the Silence   
Glaive appeared. "I am the Bringer of the Silence; the ender of the   
world."  
"You can end the world over my dead body!" Sailor Phoenix   
hollered loudly, glaring at the other Scout. "We are the Galactic   
Sailors, and we protect the wonderful world of Earth!" She looked to   
Moon. "Come on, Sailor Moon! Give us an awesome speech!"  
The pink haired girl paled. "Okay... I am the Sailor of the   
Moon! I protect the world!"  
"On behalf of the Moon, you will right wrongs and triumph over   
evil!" Diana came running up to her charge. "You can do it, Sailor   
Moon!"  
Gaining a bit of confidence, Sailor Moon cracked her knuckles.   
"On behalf of the Moon, I will right wrongs! And though you're not   
evil, we will save the world from the wrath of your Silence Glaive!"  
Saturn smiled grimly. "I will miss you, Princess." She raised   
the Glaive. "Silence Glaive... Surprise!"  
The Scouts all grimaced and covered their eyes. The beautiful   
world was about to come to an end...  
After several silent minutes, Sailor Moon opened a pair of   
tightly closed eyes. "Hey!" she exclaimed, surveying the area.   
"Nothing happened!"  
The rest of the girls looked up from their hands. "You're   
right!" exclaimed Lyra, smiling.  
A woman, who was about twenty years old, sat on the floor   
weeping.  
"Hannah?" asked Sailor Comet, stepping forward. "Are you   
alright?"  
"My Silence Glaive..." cried the dark-haired lady. "It didn't   
work... I'm just a lousy old Planet Mistress..."  
************  
  
"My, my... What a sad little planet this Earth is." A man,   
garbed in clothing of deep crimson and black, smiled wickedly. "I   
think we'll have fun destroying it." He sat back in his throne.   
"Illness! What have you to report?"  
The brown-robed man who had earlier been looking at the stars   
appeared. "My King," he said, bowing, "there are six Sailor-suited   
girls called the Galactic Sailors on Earth. They fight to defend their  
planet." He looked down, and a scroll appeared, floating above his   
hands. "And there are eight other defensive women called the 'Planet   
Mistresses'."  
"What else?" the King asked.  
"The Queen, Serenity, can wield a crystalline orb named the   
'Silver Imperium Crystal'. It has magical properties." Illness rolled   
up his scroll with a gesture. "Nothing further."  
The man nodded. "Very well. Organize an assault on the planet,   
beginning immediately. I expect that you will find Greed's help useful  
in the mission." The King smiled. "And be sure to eliminate those   
Sailor girls. I'm sure they are to be a bother." He waved a hand.   
"Dismissed."  
************  
  
And that, my friends, is where the real story begins.  
  
Galactic Sailors Say!  
  
Alice: (smiling wickedly) Today, Tara learned that stealing other   
people's lockets is bad.  
  
Tara's voice: I heard that!  
  
Reeny: (walking into picture) And today, we learned a new word-  
lesbian.  
  
Alice: (mad) Hey! I'm doing this skit!  
  
Reeny: (giggling) Yeah, right!  
  
Diana: (appearing) There you are, young lady! You're late for language  
class!  
  
Reeny: But...  
  
Alice: Ha!  
  
(Reeny and Diana leave)  
  
Phoebe: (coming out of a door with a towel around her) Hey, Alice,   
what's up?  
  
Alice: (blushing) We're on camera.  
  
Phoebe: (eyes growing wide) Oh my god! You mean that Kate was stealing  
Biles and Hosmer's idea today? (runs frantically away)  
  
Alice: (sighing) We also learned that, sometimes, bad guys wait an   
episode before plotting evil things.  
  
Brown Robed Man: (appears) Ha! (starts cackling)   
  
Green Clothed Woman: (chasing man away) Don't cackle!  
  
Alice: (shaking head) I give up... I'm done.  
  
Reeny: (running through) I don't want to work on my Spanish homework!  
  
Diana: (chasing Reeny) You come back here!  
  
Lyra: (appearing) I can think of something we learned.  
  
Alice: (annoyed) WHAT?  
  
Lyra: (smiling) When Butler promises no appearances by Galena, she   
means it!  
  
Galena: (appearing) Really?  
  
Lyra: Uh...  
  
Alice: (crying) THIS IS A DIASTER!  
  
Haley: (appearing and smiling) Why don't we just cut to our crummy   
version of the American dub theme song and leave it at that?  
  
Alice: (still crying) Roll credits...  
  
Song: The Galactic Sailors are cool,  
The Galactic Sailors go to school.  
Not one is a fool...  
We're the Sailor Scouts.  
  
Saturn didn't end the world...  
Of course, that's because she   
lost all her powers, but still...  
That part's beside the point...  
We're the Sailor Scouts.  
  
Yay, Sailor Scouts!  
More to come of the Galactic Scouts...   
Until then:  
Kate Butler and Christina  



	2. Musical Mayhem

Musical Mayhem-A Galactic Sailors Story  
  
Welcome to our second ever, world-famous fanfiction fiasco about the Galactic   
Sailors. If you, dearest reader, have ever read "Destiny Waits For No Sailor"   
or, even, "Mommy Who is Sailor Earth", you are doing pretty good. Other then   
that, you have about a snowball's chance in HELL of understanding this plot but   
we love you anyway. Again, this is co-written by myself and the ever wonderful   
Christina, who, by the way, is desperately looking for a homecoming date. Guys?   
Any takers? Just kidding... (Christina tries to strangle annoying girl at   
keyboard) Okay, so, I'll put a little update of what's going on at the beginning   
of this story, but, for the most part, you're on your own.  
This wonders what may happen if all the Galactic Sailors got into music.  
Your Vixens of Fanfictions,  
Kate and Christina  
Duncan@chicago.avenew.com and LadyBug142@aol.com  
P.S.-Katie and Meredith (the drum majors) are real people. I swear it. They go   
to our school and everything. We don't own them. Their moms and dads own them.   
And our band director probably does, too.   
P.P.S.-Lyra and Kristy Klein are NOT the same people. They have some   
similarities, but they aren't the same. Unless, of course, Kristy is a Sailor   
Scout...   
  
************  
  
THE STORY SO FAR:  
Six girls, all daughters of the original Sailor Senshi, have been hailed   
the six Galactic Sailors.   
But evil forces are at work. Several evil beings have appeared, set on   
taking over the world. Little is known about the evils, accept for the fact that   
they consist of at least a King, a brown robed man, and a green clothed woman.  
Led by Princess Reeny, who is the new Sailor of the Moon, the Galactic   
Sailors will try to defeat the evil by using their new powers. And that, my   
friends, is where the story begins.  
  
************  
  
Dressed in dark crimson and black, the man laughed evilly.   
"I pity those poor little Sailor Girls," he said in a strong voice to the   
five minions that stood before him. "For, they do not quite understand what   
horrors stand before them.  
A young, shapely woman, dressed in a gray shimmering dress that seemed to be of   
all fabrics and none, frowned a bit. "My King," she said, stepping out from the   
line, "I do not try to undermine your authority, but I am curious to why you   
have not set down a definite plan for domination."   
Glaring at the woman, the King shook his head. "Ah, Doubt, you grow too   
headstrong for your own good." He smiled at her a bit. "Someday, you will   
learn."  
Standing, he walked toward the giant window of the ship. It looked down upon   
Earth, a planet with swirling clouds and colors of blue and green and brown that   
no one could reproduce in even the greatest painting.  
"We will rule this pitiful little place called Earth... And once we do,   
the human race will be no more!" His smile was large as he began to laugh, his   
deep voice radiating through the room with a surreal quality.  
"No more!"  
************  
  
The sound of shattering glass echoed throughout the marble hallways of   
Crystal Palace.   
"Uh-oh," came a teenage voice.   
A pink haired cat heard the noise and sighed. When would that silly   
Princess learn? Diana ran towards Reeny's bedroom quickly.  
The room was large and mostly marble, with pink and red furniture. Large,   
incredible picture windows provided panoramic views of Crystal Tokyo below.   
Mirrors lined the two walk-in closets, and a small, round mirror hung above the   
desk.  
Or, more appropriately, what was left of a round mirror hung above the   
desk.  
"What did you do this time?" asked the cat, jumping onto the desk chair   
and surveying the broken glass which was scattered over a few sheets of paper.   
"Reeny, if you were playing ball in the castle again..."  
"I was not!" protested the teen, coming out from her bathroom. She carried   
an empty pail and a miniature broom. "I was practicing for this tryout that   
Phoebe says I should do!"  
"A tryout?" asked Diana, trying to read the paper through shards of glass.   
"What kind of tryout?"  
"An audition for the yearly musical at the Crystal Music Academy. Written   
by one of the Three Lights, it's called...uh..." She picked up one of the sheets   
of paper, knocking some glass onto the cat. "Sorry, Di. But it's called 'Love   
Through the Eons'. I guess there's this one part that's really small but good...   
Pheebs said it's 'written for' me."  
"A musical?" asked the cat, eyes growing wide.  
"Don't you look at my like that!" Reeny lowered her eyes. "I didn't do   
anything wrong!"  
Diana sighed. Some people just don't learn... "What's the rule?" she   
questioned the girl, looking up at her with magenta eyes.  
She just turned away and swept some glass into the bucket. The tinkling   
sound nearly covered the high-pitched voice as it mumbled something.  
"Excuse me?"   
"No Moon maiden, as long as the universe exists, should sing." The   
Princess kept cleaning up the glass.  
"And why not?" asked the Moon cat, shifting her position so that she could   
stare into the red eyes of the Princess.   
"I forget?" Reeny asked rhetorically.  
"No, you don't. Out with it." Diana shuddered. She sounded like her   
mother.  
"But Diana!" whined Reeny, collapsing onto the floor, in tears. "I really   
want to make the musical! Phoebe's a shoe-in for the lead role, and I don't do   
anything interesting like the other Galactic Sailors do! It's not fair!" Tears   
flowed onto the ground, onto the desk, into the bucket of glass shards, and even   
onto the cat.  
"Cut it out! Grow up!" Diana nagged as much as she could, but nothing   
helped. The Princess still cried like a big baby... She cried like the Queen   
would have cried when she was a teen...  
"You're acting too much like your mother!" the cat said seriously, looking   
innocently at the vaulted ceiling. "This is something that the teen Serena would   
have done..."  
Reeny stopped abruptly. "You're serious, aren't you?"  
The cat nodded in a very adult manner. "Completely."  
"Alright, I'll stop." The Princess smoothed her dress and stood slowly.   
"Well, you're still acting like your mom," commented the cat, jumping on   
the now-safe desk.  
"What do you mean?" the Princess asked, sitting on the edge of her bed.   
"You're already about ten minutes late for the Scout meeting at the Cherry   
Hill Temple."  
Princess Reeny let out a string of rather rude words and then ran,   
pigtails flying, out the door.  
************  
  
Tara, Lyra and Haley all sat in the small living room. The temple was   
nearly deserted at such a late hour on Friday, but that didn't mean the girls   
had complete privacy; Tara's parents seemed to be milling dangerously close to   
the girls at all times.  
"Are we going to do a fire reading?" asked the blond, curly haired girl.   
Perched on the arm of a ragged brown couch, she swung her legs absently. "My mom   
said that fire readings are really neat things..."  
The dark haired Shinto nodded. "We're going to try, but I would much   
prefer to have all six of us here."  
Haley sighed. "Didn't Phoebe tell you, Tara?" she asked, shifting her   
position in the armchair.   
"Tell me what?" Tara busily looked through the bookshelf.  
The brown haired teen smiled a bit. "She's got a huge audition at the   
Crystal Music Academy, and she can't get here."  
Tara turned around and looked at the two others. "She's not coming! How am   
I supposed to do a proper reading without centered Sailor Power?" Annoyed, she   
kicked the shelf.   
"I'm sorry Tara," attempted Lyra. Seeing as that didn't help much, she   
jumped from her seat and walked over the where her friend was. "What are you   
looking for?" she asked, peering at the rows of books.  
The Shinto sighed and picked out a brown-leather book. "It's a book on   
ancient rituals. I thought it might be helpful."  
"Good thought," Haley commented, walking over. "Is there anything about   
ancient musical rituals?"  
"Why?" asked the younger girls in unison.  
The brown haired girl sighed. "I'm about an inch away from flunking out of   
the Music Academy."  
"You go to the Music Academy?" Lyra was shocked. "How could you be   
flunking? You've got to be a great musician to get in there."  
"Yeah, Haley," Tara commented, flipping through the book. "And your mother   
is one of the greatest concert violinists in the world."  
"And she's my mother," Haley responded, aqua eyes growing sad.   
Lyra was puzzled. "What does that mean?" she asked, looking at her friend.  
"Michelle was the one who founded Crystal Music Academy." She sighed.   
"That's how I got in."  
"Oh, Haley," began Lyra softly. "If I had known, I would have kept my   
mouth..."  
The door burst open. "I'm here!" Reeny exclaimed, taking Diana off her   
head and placing her one the floor. "We can start now!"  
Haley, Lyra, and Tara all bowed as a reflex.  
"Don't do that!" the Princess exclaimed, crossing her arms over the pink   
T-shirt she wore. "I hate it when people bow!"  
The three immediately straightened up and mumbled there apologies.   
"And don't apologize!" commanded the pink-haired girl, sighing deeply.   
Lyra giggled. "No wonder you're the leader!" she exclaimed, putting her   
hands on her hips.  
Reeny paled. "I'm the leader?"  
"Of course, Reeny," Tara commented, staring at the book. "You're the   
daughter of the Queen of Crystal Tokyo. Why wouldn't you be our leader?"  
Diana sighed. She knew what was coming.  
"But I don't want to be the leader!" The pink-haired girl whined loudly,   
falling to her knees. "Being the leader is hard... and scary!" She began crying.  
"Get up!" commanded Diana. "You're acting like a big baby!"  
"Am not!" cried the Princess.  
"Yes, you are." Diana sat in front of the girl and glared at her. "In   
fact, you're acting like your mother."  
"Again?" Reeny jumped straight up.  
"Again. You've got to start acting like an adult," Diana commanded,   
gaining a bit of an English accent. She sighed. Like mother, like daughter...  
"If Reeny doesn't want to be the leader, one of the rest of us could take   
over," suggested Lyra, plopping down on the couch.   
Tara shook her head, green eyes rising from the book. "Sailor Moon has   
long been the leader of the Sailor Scouts. We cannot go against that kind of   
tradition."  
Haley shrugged. "I don't see why not. I mean, we're the Galactic Sailors.   
We should be able to change precedents like that."  
"Precedents like what?" came another voice from the doorway.  
Running a hand through her auburn hair, Alice Kino dropped her backpack   
next to the couch and smiled. "How late am I?" she asked.  
"Late," Tara responded curtly.  
Opening her pack, Alice sighed. That Tara... "I brought homemade cookies!"   
she announced, pulling out an odd looking bag.  
"You put cookies in that?" asked Reeny, scratching her head.   
Alice giggled. "Don't mind how it looks. It was my first sewing project of   
the year."  
"So, you've gotten better?" asked Lyra.  
"Nope. I've probably gotten worse." Alice opened the bag. "They're   
chocolate pecan peanut butter chip."  
Tara intercepted the bag. "Not until after the reading."  
"Why not?" asked Reeny, practically drooling over the delectable treats   
that awaited her.  
Tara crossed her arms. "We need to be completely concentrated on the fire   
reading."  
"But Tara..." whined Reeny loudly.  
"And then," the Shinto girl continued, slamming the book shut, "we can   
have green tea and all the cookies we want. Deal?"  
"Deal," said Lyra.  
"Deal," responded Haley.  
"Got it!" Alice smiled.  
Reeny sighed, crinkling her nose. "But I want cookies!" she exclaimed.  
"Deal?" asked Tara, lowering her eyes.  
Diana smiled. For a thirteen-year-old, she was quite convincing.  
"Deal."  
************  
  
She was dressed all and green leather and a braid of severe black hair   
hung down her back. Pacing slowly and breathing deeply, she looked around the   
empty black chamber.  
The Chamber of Spirits. The name sent shivers down her spine. Goosebumps   
prickled up her arms.  
A rustle of robes from behind her forced her to jump.   
"Illness," she scolded, tracing the seven-pointed star symbol on the   
floor. It was an inset shimmering golden color, which deeply contrasted the   
black marble that surrounded her. "It's very rude to startle me like that."  
The man, softly and elegantly, walked around the young woman. "Looking for   
something here?"  
"Just world domination, Illness," she responded, looking at the jewels at   
tipped each of the points. Deepest crimson, a deceptive color of gray, sparkling   
ebony, a ruby, an emerald of and impossible shade, a light brown color, and one   
which was indescribably silver.   
"How do you expect to see world domination?" The pale man brushed a few   
brown hairs out of his eyes.  
The woman shrugged, fingering her black braid. Pacing a bit, she bit one   
of her long fingernails. "Well, do you have a plan or not, Illness? I don't have   
time to waste, you know."  
The man cackled a bit. "Always thinking of yourself, aren't you?"  
She giggled a bit. "Of course, Illness. You know me too well!" Smiling at   
Illness, she sighed. "I want to get this over with!"  
"Patience, Greed, patience." Illness smiled kindly.  
"Patience my leather covered butt!" retorted Greed. "I feel strong   
spiritual forces right now..."  
Illness sighed. "I don't believe His Majesty expects me to work with   
you..." he mumbled softly.  
"Huh?" asked the woman.  
"Nothing, Greed, nothing." He sighed, closing his eyes. "Spirits, show us   
the way to world domination."  
Greed laughed. "You go ahead and meditate. I'm going to go practice my   
fighting skills." She walked off.  
Illness hung his wary head. "Spirits, help me to survive my partnership   
with Greed."  
************   
  
"Oh great fire, I ask you in the name of Earth to tell us what this new   
evil is." Tara closed her eyes and began to meditate.  
"Is this the part when you're not supposed to talk?" came a small voice.  
Snapping from her meditation, Tara turned to see a little child standing   
in the doorway.  
"Celeste!" yelped Lyra, jumping to her feet. "What do you think you're   
doing here?"   
The child, a chipper looking girl of about six with hair the color of   
corn, smiled a partially-toothless grin. "I followed you here, Lyra. You have   
big kid friends, and I don't, so I wanted to come too!"  
"You mean to say that you listened in on our entire conversation?" asked   
the curly-haired teen.  
Celeste nodded. "What's a 'Galactic Sailor'? And do they get to fight the   
evil that black-haired lady mentioned?"  
Lyra groaned. Haley, Alice, and Tara all sighed. The Princess smiled.   
"Smart kid!" she commented.  
The little girl looked at Reeny. "You're the Princess! I think you're the   
most prettiest girl in the whole world!"   
Reeny smiled at that and vainly ran her fingers through a pigtail. "I like   
this rug-rat! Who is she?"  
"My little sister." Lyra turned to the rest of the group. "Fourth oldest   
at six and a half years old."  
Alice's eyes grew wide. "How many siblings do you have, Lyra?"  
"I've got seven sisters and brothers!" exclaimed Celeste, sitting down on   
the wooden floor as though she owned the temple. "There's Lyra, then Becky, then   
Paul, and me. After me are Bobby, and then Sara and Johnny-they're twins-and   
then baby Lila!" She counted on her fingers for a moment. "Yep! That's eight."  
Reeny's eyes got big. "People actually have that many kids?"  
"You don't have any sisters?" asked the little girl.  
"Nope," the Princess said.  
"Or brothers?"  
"None, but my parents want to have a son eventually." Reeny blushed. "I   
mean..."  
"None of us have brothers or sisters," Tara sighed, trying to draw the   
conversation to a fast close.   
"Not completely true," Haley responded. "I have Hannah."  
"Yeah," commented Tara with a sigh. "And she tried to kill us all."  
"Who's Hannah?" asked the young girl. "What's a 'Galactic Sailor'? Do you   
fight evil? And why did Hannah try to kill you?"  
An idea popped into Lyra's mind. "How would you like some yummy cookies   
and milk?"  
"Yeah!" Alice chimed in. "I made some cookies. Do you want some?"  
"Could I please have some?" asked the little girl.  
"Of course! Tara will show you where to go."   
Grumbling, the black haired teen took Celeste's hand and led her out of   
the room.  
"She's really smart," commented Diana.  
Lyra shook her head. "Not no way, not no how!" she exclaimed, putting her   
hands on her hips. "You are not using my little sister for some Sailor plot!"  
"I didn't mean it that way, Lyra," commented the cat, licking a paw   
absently. "I was just noting that she's a bright kid."  
"Good." Lyra backed down. "Sorry that I got so mad."  
"It's okay," commented Diana. "I understand."  
Tara, re-entering the room, sighed. "That little chatterbox is eating all   
the cookies right now." Tara knelt on her pillow with a sigh.  
"Did you save me any?" asked Reeny.  
Alice smacked her gently.  
"And, I got a phone call from Phoebe." She prepared to meditate.  
"What'd she say?" asked Haley softly.   
"I guess she did more than made the musical," Tara responded, closing her   
eyes.   
"She got accepted into Crystal Music Academy."  
************  
  
"Mom, Crystal Music Academy is the best music school in the nation! Maybe   
the best in the world!" Phoebe slammed the acceptance letter onto the table.   
"And I have been trying, for the past five years, to get accepted!"  
Amy strummed her fingers on the tabletop. Greg silently sat next to his   
wife, looking at his teen daughter with attentive dark brown eyes.  
"It's extremely important to me!" exclaimed the teen, running her hand   
through the long midnight-blue hair. "I love music! I love to dance! And I don't   
want to go to Brighton anymore!" She felt like she was going to cry.  
"You're not yet old enough to go to high school, young lady," Amy said   
sternly. "And you will not go to the Music Academy... You will go to Brighton."  
"No!" yelped the girl. "I'm going to Crystal Music Academy!"  
Greg sighed. "Maybe we should listen to Phoebe's arguments more, dearest.   
I mean, she really loves the arts and I think that, perhaps, the Music Academy   
would be the best thing for her."  
Shaking her head of blue hair, Amy sighed. "No. I want her to go to   
schools focusing on academics, not arts."  
"But the Music Academy has some of the best test scores in the country!"   
Phoebe exclaimed, tears welling in her eyes. "And it means a lot to me! And   
Haley goes there!"  
"Haley?" asked Greg, confused.  
"Sailor Comet," commented Amy. "In response to that-I'm sure one of the   
other Galactic Sailors will get into the private high school. Reeny, perhaps,   
will make it..."  
"But I want to go!" cried Phoebe, her tears becoming very real. "I love   
dance! I love music! And acting!" She looked at the letter in front of her. "My   
entire life, I have dreamed of this moment, Mother. Of the moment when I could   
see the acceptance letter in front of me and know that all my goals had been   
reached. Do you really want to scatter all of my fantasies to the wind?" Phoebe   
looked up with her ice blue eyes. "Being Sailor Phoenix is a very real thing to   
you. If I hadn't wanted to become a Sailor, you wouldn't have let me get away   
with that. It was my destiny. And now I want something. And you won't let do it.  
"This is more than a little girl wanting a new doll, Mom. Crystal Music   
Academy is my destiny. You can't stand in the way of destiny."  
Amy shook her head, her blue eyes welling up with tears. "I am not passing   
any judgement, Phoebe, because I don't think this is destiny at all." She turned   
to her husband. "Greg, what do you think?"  
This had happened before. He had, many times, saved Amy from Phoebe's   
wrath, or had saved Phoebe from her mother's words of fire. But this was   
different. This was a choice that would effect all of their lives for a long   
while.  
"Let's wait and see how Phoebe does in the musical. We can decide then."   
His deep voice was strong. "Can you two gals live with that?"  
The doctor sighed, and smiled grimly. "I suppose."  
All Phoebe could do was nod.  
************  
  
"Nothing?" asked Reeny, staring at the flames.  
Tara shook her head grimly. "I don't know what I did wrong." Staring at   
the floor, she sighed. "I'm sorry."  
"Don't be," Haley smiled. "Reading the fire isn't so important."  
"Yeah!" Lyra chimed in, getting up and putting a hand on Tara's shoulder.   
"After all, the important thing is that we be the best Sailors that we can."  
The Shinto stood slowly, towering above Lyra. "You think so?"  
"Yep!" Lyra responded.  
A shadow appeared in the doorway. All five girls shrieked and jumped back.   
Diana just sighed.  
"What's all the commotion?" asked the shadow, stepping forward.   
The shadow had a chest length ponytail. And ice blue eyes. And was wearing   
a red sweater and khakis.  
"You scared us, Phoebe!" Alice panted, a hand on her chest. "Don't do   
that!"  
The girl blushed. "Sorry guys. I just wanted to come by and ask how the   
fire reading went."  
"It didn't," Reeny sighed, scooping up the cat. "Tara didn't get a   
reading."  
Phoebe's eyes grew wide. "Really?"  
Tara nodded quietly. "I don't know what I did wrong. Maybe my mother could   
attempt the reading."   
"You must do it on your own," came an adult voice. Raye, High Priestess of   
the Shinto Religion, the Mistress of Mars, and the mother of Sailor Earth,   
appeared. "I cannot read in the name of Earth."  
"And I cannot in the name of Mars," Tara sighed, looking at the fire   
mournfully.  
"Hey! Cheer up!" Lyra told her friend. "Everything will be okay!"  
"I guess you're right," Tara chimed in.  
The motley group walked slowly back to the living room without a word.  
After a pause, Phoebe spoke.  
"Hey, guys," she said, sticking her hands in her pockets, "I made the lead   
in the musical."  
A chorus of congratulations came from the other five.  
"Well, when I was there, I overheard the man who puts together the   
marching band every year. It seems that they need some more people."  
The others stopped in their tracks.  
"Phoebe?" asked Tara softly. "What are you trying to say?"  
The actress blushed deeply. "Well, I kind of signed you guys up for the   
marching band."  
Groans were heard from miles, as was Alice's voice.  
"I play the CELLO, Phoebe! How do you march with a CELLO?"  
************  
  
"Princess, what instrument are you interested in playing?" Michelle chewed   
on the pencil eraser. What a bad habit, she thought to herself. I should quit   
sometime.  
Reeny shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe flute?" She played with a pink   
pigtail. "What do you think I would be good at, Mistress Neptune?"  
The aqua-haired woman set her pencil down and flicked on the computer that   
Hannah had insisted on installing. "Hold on," Michelle said softly as she   
attempted to pull the Princess' file onto the screen. Nothing happened. She   
double clicked on the file.   
A beep sounded, and Michelle jumped. The computer then began to play   
'Tuxedo Mirage' at the top of its mechanical lungs.  
"What?" She pulled away from the computer and picked up the phone. Dialing   
a number, she smiled at the pink haired Princess. "Sorry about this, Princess. I   
don't have the faintest idea of how to work the computer."  
Reeny just smiled.   
"Hi, Haley?" Michelle said into the phone. "It's Mom." There was a pause,   
and Haley's voice was audibly heard through the receiver. "That's nice... Mm-  
hmm... I'm sure Hannah didn't mean it like that..." Hitting some random buttons   
on the keyboard while she listened on the phone, Michelle sighed. The computer   
was now playing 'Maiden's Policy'.   
"Haley," she finally said, "the computer started playing music-loudly-and   
I don't know how to stop it. Nothing else works..." She paused and looked to the   
keyboard. "Control... Alt... Delete... Close down the music player... Alt,   
Shift, D... I don't see an option of disable... Oh, that? Got it." She punched a   
button, and the ruckus stopped in its tracks. "Thanks dear... See you at   
seven... Do your homework!"  
Reeny laughed at the last sentence. "I didn't know that Haley knew so much   
about computers," she said, smiling politely.   
Michelle shrugged. "She can fool with computers, she can play any sport on   
earth, and she knows Current Events like nobody's business." Then, she shrugged,   
teal eyes turning sad. "And she can't carry a tune to save her life."   
"I think I'd like to play trumpet," the Princess finally said, smiling.   
"It sounds like fun."  
Michelle looked at the desk calendar, and flipped a few pages in silence.   
"I do believe that I have an opening Monday. Could you come in at about six that   
evening?"  
"Okey-dokey!" Reeny skipped out of the office, waving goodbye merrily.  
Michelle smiled as the Princess left. Then, she frowned.  
"I hope Hannah and Haley don't kill each other before I can get home," she   
sighed, beginning to type on the computer."  
************  
  
"You are nothing but a spoiled rotten, diaper wearing baby who couldn't be   
a Sailor Scout if her life depended on it!" Hannah yelled at her sister.  
The words stung a bit, but Haley shook them off as a horse would flies.   
"At least I didn't try to end the world for my own selfish reasons!" she   
retorted, raising her voice.  
"Those reasons were not selfish," Hannah bristled. "I was trying to   
protect the good of the world."  
"Bull shit!" Haley yelled. "There was no logic in your actions!"  
"Yes, there was," the dark haired woman responded softly. "You don't even   
understand."  
"How could I understand?" asked Haley, lowering her voice and looking into   
the purple eyes with a thoughtful gaze. "You never told a soul what your   
reasoning was."  
Hannah just sighed and picked up her books. "You wouldn't understand. No   
one would." She retreated towards her room.  
"I don't get that kid," the brown haired teen commented, plopping down in   
front of the piano. "She goes out of her to pick fights and then runs from   
them."  
"Sailor Comet, you would not understand," came a calm and adult voice from   
behind her.  
Haley forced a smile, for, on all the Earth, no sound was as sweet to the   
ears. "Auntie Susan!" she exclaimed, whirling around. "Why are you here?"  
Then, Haley did a double take. Same woman, different side of her.  
Sailor Pluto.  
The garnet eyes of the Guardian of Time stared at the girl. It was hard to   
believe that Haley, the Sailor Scout of the Comets, was the same little girl who   
had once dumped a gallon of white tempera paints throughout the house. It was   
hard to think that this was the same girl who had once knocked poor Michelle in   
the head with the Deep Aqua Mirror Talisman while going through a closet.   
But it was.  
"I am here to tell you why Hannah is so sensitive to your words," Pluto   
said, sitting down on the couch. An air of comfort enveloped the teen. Though   
she was in the form of Sailor Pluto, she was very much Haley's Aunt Susan, the   
woman who had been supportive and understanding since day one.   
"As a child, Hannah was possessed by an evil entity called Mistress Nine."  
The teen blanched. "Shouldn't Mom and Alex tell me about this?" she asked   
softly, bracing herself.  
Pluto smiled and wiped a hunter green hair from her face. "Do you actually   
think they would?" she asked in a slightly sarcastic manner. "They try to keep   
both of you hidden from the harsh reality that is the real world, Haley." She   
sighed. "And I want to tell you the truth."  
"Truth," Haley thought aloud, looking to the woman. "What is the value of   
truth in this world?" She stared at the ground. "Truth means I have no real   
parents. Truth means that I have no sister. Truth means..." She sighed deeply   
and stared at the ground. "Truth means I'm not even good enough to get into the   
music academy. I hate the truth."  
"You fear the truth," Pluto corrected, focusing on the girl. "Truth brings   
us much closer to who we really are. Truth makes us the people we were meant to   
be." Smiling a bit, she thoughtfully teased the bow that was on her outfit. "And   
that's frightening."  
Rolling her eyes, Haley turned her back to her friend and crossed her arms   
across her chest. "You're making this all up, Susan," she said gruffly, not   
letting herself believe.  
Pluto shook her head. "Part of you is dying to ignore me," she said,   
looking to the girl with the short brown hair. "But most of you knows I'm   
right."  
Haley was about to make a comeback, but she felt the woman's eyes   
searching her. "Don't talk, Haley. Just listen to me.  
"Hannah was once taken over by an evil entity. Mistress Nine. But she was   
killed and reborn. Your mothers-Michelle and Alexandra-raised the new Hannah   
from infancy, with a bit of help from me."  
"So?" asked Haley, turning around slowly. "I knew that Hannah was raised   
by Mom and...uh, Alex..."  
Pluto shook her head. "But we spoiled Hannah. We waited years and years to   
tell her of Mistress Nine, and she got all she wanted. So, needless to say..."  
"I was a total killjoy." Enlightenment dawned on Haley's pale face.   
Running a hand through her hair, she sighed. "I killed Hannah's perfectly   
blissful world." Gasping and putting a hand over her mouth, she swallowed, hard.   
"Her innocence had already been shattered by the news of being Mistress Nine,   
and the fact I took over her limelight with my parents didn't help, right?"  
"Exactly. That's exactly what I was trying to say." Pluto stood slowly and   
smoothed her fuku. "I'm glad was understand each other, Haley." She ruffled the   
girl's hair. "It's been a while since I've talked to you, one on one."  
Aqua eyes growing wide, she looked at her friend with doubt. "That's it?   
You tell me all this stuff and then you leave? I don't think so!"  
The green haired adult smiled broadly. "I have a duty to fulfill. As do   
you." She opened a hand into the air. Her time key appeared in her grasp. "But,   
Haley... don't blame your poor sister, alright? It's mostly not her fault."  
Pluto was gone.  
Just as Pluto left, Michelle walked through the door and set her briefcase   
on the floor. As she went to greet her child, she paused and sniffed the air.  
"Sailor Pluto was here, wasn't she?" the woman asked, curtly but kindly.  
Haley nodded. "She wanted to talk."  
Sighing a bit, and then smiling, Michelle put her hands on her hips.   
"Pluto never just talks to someone, sweetie," she corrected.  
Then, in an out-of-character moment, her smile grew wider and she   
shrugged. "By the way," she said, teal eyes sparkling, "the Princess has decided   
to play an instrument."  
"Really?" Haley was surprised. "What is she playing?"  
As visions of Reeny on flute, piano, violin, and harp flooded the girl's   
mind, Michelle responded. "Trumpet."  
Haley nearly fainted.  
************   
  
Green eyes, deep and soulful, flashed open. A body, in skin-tight green   
leather, shuddered.  
Rushing over, the brown-robed man otherwise known as Illness rushed over.   
"Greed," he said, looking down at her. "Are you alright?"  
Suddenly aware that she was laying on the hard, cold ground, she expelled   
a great amount of strength to get up.   
They were in a hallway. Brown, nondescript tile made up the floor, and the   
walls were an off-white color that appeared to be ancient.  
Rubbing her temples, Greed looked at the man. Illness was the exact   
opposite of attractive-he was plain and prosaic, with brown hair, brown eyes,   
brown robes, and brownish skin... Everything brown, brown, brown. But, he could   
have a kind heart when he tried, and his sense of duty was strong. "Where are   
we?" she asked warily.  
Illness extended a hand. "You don't remember?"  
"OF COURSE I DON'T!" she snapped. Jumping up on her own, she lowered her   
voice to a hoarse whisper. "If I remembered, would I ask?" she hissed, hitting   
his upper arm-hard.  
Rubbing his bruised arm, Illness shook his head. "The Princess of the   
Earth is taking music lessons here."  
"Where is here?" she asked impatiently, beginning to wander around.  
"Crystal Music Academy," he responded, following her down the hall.   
"School of some of the most respected musical prodigies in the country..."  
A girl with long, midnight blue hair went bolting down the hall. Past   
Illness...  
Right into Greed.  
"Sorry," she stated, jumping up. She smoothed her crimson-color skirt. "I   
didn't mean to run into you." She smiled, obviously embarrassed.  
The woman in green jumped up. Her black braid was messy, now, and her   
clothing was scuffed and dusty. "You little brat!" she exclaimed, walking   
towards the girl.   
The teen backed up a bit. Her ice blue eyes were strong, and not the least   
bit afraid. It seemed as though the backing up was just to make room for   
maneuverability.   
Illness grimaced. This girl seemed familiar... A strange energy came   
shooting from her. He knew where this was going to lead.  
"I said I was sorry, Miss," the girl repeated, sticking on hand in her   
pocket. "The name's Phoebe, and I'm awful late for my musical rehearsal. That's   
all."  
Greed bristled. "Excuses, excuses," she scolded. "I'm late... boo-hoo...   
let's pity the little brat." Prancing around, she mocked Phoebe.  
"You witch!" she swore, glaring. "Take that back right now!"  
Illness put on hand on his companion's shoulder before it got out of hand.   
"We have a mission," he hissed, smoothing his robes. "Do you not remember that?"  
"Mission, schmission!" Greed retorted, whirling around. She lowered her   
eyes. "I want to give that little brat a piece of my mind!"  
But, once she turned back to where Phoebe was to be, the girl had gone.  
************  
  
"Band! Ten-hut!"   
"Go..." muttered Tara, half-heartedly putting the battered clarinet in   
front of her. Silently cursing Phoebe-the-do-gooder, she sighed. Marching   
band...  
Lyra kicked her friend in the back of the leg. "If you do it like that,"   
she scolded, "you look like a total goober."   
The drum major, a spunky, older teen with short blonde hair, walked over   
to Tara and looked straight into the green eyes. "Is that an attention   
position?" she asked cheerily, eyes smiling.  
"No, miss," she responded, bringing her body into perfect position. Head   
up, elbows out, chest forward, back straight, feet at a forty-five degree angle,   
clarinet away from her body...  
The drum major grinned. "Thanks, Tara!" Skipping back to her little   
ladder-podium, she waved.  
Lyra smirked. "Isn't Katie a riot?" she asked, smiling.  
Sighing, Tara gritted her teeth. "I guess," she responded.  
"You hate this, don't you?" The girl was completely serious.  
The other turned around. The five-foot tall blonde looked funny with a   
sousaphone wrapped around her. Another girl, slightly taller and with shorter   
hair, looked at her fellow tuba-player. "Lyra," she whispered, "Katie and   
Meredith are going to have a cow!"   
Waving a careless hand at the other, the Scout of the North Star smiled.   
"You hate it?" she asked quietly.  
Tara just nodded at her.   
The other tuba player poked Lyra. "Lyra..."  
"Shush, Kristy!" retorted the younger girl, turning around. Lowering her   
brown eyes, she trying to cross her arms. The motion was impended by the   
sousaphone, but she got the idea across. "This is a bit more important than..."  
"LYRA!" came a voice. A short girl with chin length light brown ran over.   
A whistle hung around her neck.  
Blushing deeply, Lyra took her position. "Hi, Meredith," she said sweetly,   
staring at the ground.  
The drum major sighed. "How many times are you and your friend going to   
get into trouble?" the young woman scolded, putting her hands on her hips. "I   
don't want to come across as a total jerk, but..."  
The black haired clarinetist turned around. "I'm afraid, miss, that this   
remains to be all my fault." Her face was grim and serious.  
"Well, since you're new, I'll let it go," Meredith sighed, beginning to   
walk off. "But please, in the future, try to keep up your positions."  
From her spot, Lyra's eyes grew wide. "How do you DO that?" she hissed at   
Tara.  
"Do what?" asked the Shinto.  
"Get her to give in..."  
"GUYS!" warned Kristy in a stern voice. "You want to get in trouble or   
what?"  
Lyra stood at attention position. Tara stared at her music.  
From the front of the band, Katie and Meredith's voices rang out in a   
startling unison.  
"Band...ten-hut!"  
************  
  
Diana covered her ears.  
Throughout the hallways of Crystal Palace, there was a startling sound.  
The sound of a goose dying, perhaps? Or, maybe it was the sound of a   
thousand air-raid sirens that were all about half a step off pitch.  
No, that wasn't it either...  
As Diana walked through the Palace, looking for the source of the sound,   
she ran into a familiar face.  
Alice Kino, the Sailor Scout of Light.  
"What's that racket?" asked the girl, bending over to scoop up the cat.  
Diana shrugged. "I have no idea!"  
"Maybe Reeny knows?" ventured the auburn-haired teen, patting the cat.  
Grimacing, the animal sighed. "Knowing Reeny, she's the source of the   
problem."  
The two walked towards Reeny's room. The noise got louder.  
Closing her eyes, Alice slowly imagined fields of flowers, chocolate, and   
other awkwardly serene things that were to help her stop thinking of the blaring   
clamor.  
And she ran into something.  
"Oof!" Jumping up and rubbing her bruised behind, Alice tried to figure   
out what she ran into.   
There was really nothing or no one around...  
Except for a dazed King Endymion lying on the marble floor.  
"Your Majesty!" the girl exclaimed, offering a hand. "Are you alright?"  
Endymion sat up and rubbed the side of his face. "I don't know which hurts   
more-falling onto a marble floor, or hearing this endless sound!" He took her   
hand and stood slowly. "But, the true question is, are YOU alright?"  
Alice blushed and stared at the ground. King Endymion, though married, was   
the most sought-after man in all of Crystal Tokyo. He was cute, kind, loving,   
and gentle... The list went on, and on, and on...   
"I'm fine, Majesty," she blushed shyly, looking at the ground. Realizing   
that he still had her hand, she pulled it shyly away and blushed even more   
deeply.   
He's absolutely perfect, she thought to herself, staring at her tennis   
shoes. I wonder if my father was like him... She smiled at the thought.  
And, just as she smiled, the horrible fanfare stopped.  
"What WAS that?" asked Alice, peering down the hall cautiously.  
"I don't know," Endymion commented, shrugging.  
Diana, who was sprawled out on the floor (Alice's fall had discarded her   
in such a manner), pulled herself up and groaned. "Ouch," she commented,   
stretching. "I'm going to be sore for a week."  
"Do you know what that sound was?" asked the teen, picking the cat back   
up.  
"I only have one idea," Diana said sternly, looking up at the girl and   
then at the King. "Reeny."  
Suddenly, a head of pink hair appeared at the end of the hallway. Dressed   
all in white, Reeny skipped at a brisk pace towards the two humans and her   
guardian cat.  
And something golden glinted, catching the sunlight which pouring through   
the infinite windows.  
A trumpet.  
Endymion looked at Alice. Alice looked at Diana. Diana stared at the King.  
And all three turned slowly to Reeny.  
"Hi, guys!" the Princess yelled, quickening her pace. "Did you hear my   
wonderful rendition of 'Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star'?" she asked merrily.  
All three groaned.  
"I have a feeling this is going to be a long week..." commented Diana.  
************  
  
"Sometimes, the road looks long, and sometimes... The world seems wrong,   
but I know...I know..." Phoebe sang, prancing up and down the stage with   
finesse. All of the other actors stared at her. She was amazing.  
"I know...I know... All you need is love..." she sang.  
Haley, from her seat at the piano, gazed longingly at the stage. The   
wonder of stage acting never ceased to amaze her. And Phoebe was a pro.  
The other main character, a young man named Thomas, gazed at Phoebe as she   
sung her part. He stepped onto stage. "Why does she stay? Why does she stay? She   
seems too good for me..." he sung.  
Smiling, Haley watched. Thomas was a good actor, but he lacked the   
overwhelming stage presence that Phoebe had.  
"Haley!" yelled the director from her seat in the back row of the theater.   
"What are you doing?"  
Snapping to reality, the sixteen-year-old swallowed. "Watching the   
musical?" she asked timidly.  
The director stood and descended down the stairs and stared into Haley's   
aqua eyes. "You had a piano cue a good minute ago, young lady!" she screamed   
boldly.   
From her spot on stage, Phoebe bristled. "Leave her alone!" she snapped,   
walking a few steps forward. "It was just an accident!"  
The director lowered her eyes. "You listen to me, Phoebe," she commanded.   
"Your daring will get you nowhere in this case. This is between me and your   
friend Haley." She crossed her arms. "If you value your role, you'll stay out of   
this."  
Phoebe grimaced and stepped back. Looking at Haley with sorrow in her ice   
blue eyes, she smiled sadly. 'Sorry,' she mouthed, looking at her friend.  
Haley shrugged and turned to the stern director. She was an older woman,   
probably in her early fifties, with graying hair and darting gray eyes. "I'm   
sorry, ma'am," Haley said, blushing. "I was taken in by Phoebe and Tom's   
acting."  
"If you let it happen again..." The director glared at her, but didn't say   
a word. She started up the stairs.  
Suddenly, the doors to the auditorium burst open. A woman in skintight   
green leather and a man in billowing brown robes walked in.  
"You can't come in here!" hollered the director.  
The man waved a hand, and ropes tightened themselves around the director.   
Duct tape covered her mouth.  
"Now then," commanded the woman, flipping her long braid over one   
shoulder. "Which one of you is the Princess of the Earth?" she asked sternly,   
looking around the room.  
Her green eyes came to rest on Phoebe. Phoebe was standing in front of the   
cast, hate in her eyes.  
"You!" the woman declared, rushing down the stairs. "You again?" She   
smiled. "I can get my revenge."  
"I think not!" Phoebe commented, placing a hand in her pocket.  
Haley felt for the thin strip of leather that circled her neck. She nodded   
at Phoebe.  
"Three...two...one...bolt for it!" Phoebe and Haley, at the exact same   
instant, took off and headed backstage.  
While standing in the darkened area that would lead to the dressing rooms,   
Phoebe and Haley heard the woman's voice.  
"Damn brats!" she swore. "Now we have to find them!"  
A man's voice chimed in. "Don't fret, Greed. They'll be ours soon enough."  
Haley glanced at Phoebe. "Should we?"  
Phoebe shrugged. "Do we have a choice?" She raised her locket high.   
"Phoenix Galactic Power... Make Up!"  
"Comet Galactic Power... Make Up!"  
************  
  
Tara dropped her clarinet.  
It fell to the ground with a clatter.  
"Are you alright?" asked several of the other band members, flocking   
around her.   
Nodding meekly, Tara felt for her locket.  
The locket was warm.  
"Lyra!" she yelled, running across the football field to where the   
sousaphones were gathered. "Lyra!"  
Lyra, pulling way from the mouthpiece of the giant instrument, looked to   
her friend. "Tara?" she asked, taking her instrument off and setting it on the   
ground. "Are you alright?"  
The Shinto was shaking. "Feel your locket," she commanded, hand clutched   
to her own locket.  
"Why?"  
"JUST DO IT!" Her commanding voice rang through the air.  
Sighing, the blonde girl stuck her hand into her shirt and groped for the   
round disc.   
It was warm, nearly hot.  
"Oh my God!" Lyra exclaimed, dropping her music on the ground. "What does   
this mean?"  
"I feel danger," was all Tara could manage. "Nearby."  
The two took off down the field.  
************  
  
Reeny froze. She was sitting on her bed, talking to Alice, and completely   
froze.  
Alice did the same.  
"Did your locket...get...warm?" breathed the Princess.  
Hardly moving, the other girl nodded.  
Diana, sitting on the desk, looked blankly at them. "Huh?" she asked.  
"What does it mean if our lockets get warm?" asked Alice, turning to the   
cat.  
Diana shrugged. "I don't know." Suddenly, Diana froze, too. "I think   
Phoebe and Haley are in major danger."  
Reeny and Alice looked at one another. And then, without another word,   
they took off for Crystal Music Academy.  
************  
  
Sailor Comet and Sailor Phoenix looked blankly at one another. Sailor   
Comet's outfit was orange and silver, while Phoenix's was crimson and dark   
orange. They looked like different people.  
"How do we fight?" asked Comet.  
Phoenix shrugged. "I supposed we go give a speech and then hope the others   
show up."  
"Is that a good idea?"  
Phoenix had already charged out into the open.  
Most the cast had run away, and those who hadn't were cowering in random   
corners of the set, afraid to so much as blink. The man and woman were standing   
in front of the stage, arguing.  
"Revenge is not what we're here for, Greed," the man said.  
"Do I care? NO!" retorted the woman. "Besides, Illness, you're such a   
spoil sport."  
Illness mumbled something that sounded like "glory hog".  
From her vintage point, Phoenix smirked. "This is too easy," she said   
softly to Comet.  
"Hey! Evil trash!" she yelled, crossing her arms over the crimson bow.   
"What do you two think you're doing here?"  
Greed and Illness whirled around to face the young woman. "Who the hell   
are you?" asked Greed, smoothing some of her leather in a very seductive manner.  
"I am the Sailor-Suited Hero Sailor Phoenix!"  
"And I'm Sailor Comet!" the other Scout chimed in.  
"On behalf of the Sun..."  
"And of all Comets..."  
"WE WILL PUNISH YOU!" Both girls struck random poses.   
Greed made a face. "Oh, jeez, I'm shaking."  
Phoenix bristled. "You should be!"  
"I don't know what's scarier," Greed continued, crossing her arms over her   
(large) chest, "the Sailor of the Sun having blue hair, or the Sailor of Comets   
looking like an awful big wimp."  
"I am not a wimp!" Comet yelled.  
"You're making me mad..." Phoenix glared at the woman.  
Greed chuckled a bit.   
"Phoenix...Heat...Flashing!" From Phoenix's out-stretched hands came some   
type of steamy and fiery substance.  
"Ouch!" Greed recoiled and glared at the young Scout. "That hurt! You   
little spawn!" A sword materialized in her right hand.   
"Uh-oh..." Comet stepped back a bit. "I think we made her kind of mad."  
"Good!" Phoenix glared at the woman. "You and your friend can leave, you   
know."  
The woman stuck her nose into the air and swept her braid behind her back.   
"Don't you make me laugh! You two are pathetic."  
The man, from behind her, held out a hand. Instantly, the stage turned   
into nothing more than a swamp of mud.  
"Yuck!" commented Comet, trying to pull herself out of the mire. "How did   
he do that?"  
"I am Illness, sorcerer of the Andromeda Galaxy." He flicked a wrist, and   
the mud turned into a watery pit.   
The sword that the woman held floated above the two Scouts, then dropped   
into the water, and came out again. "And I am Greed, warrior of the Andromeda   
Galaxy."  
Comet and Phoenix looked at each other. "Andromeda Galaxy?" Comet asked   
blankly.  
Phoenix was too busy treading water to listen to Comet.  
Greed was about to respond, but two adolescent voices echoed from the back   
of the theater.  
"Stop right there!" yelled the girl with a tan and green Sailor outfit.  
"Or we'll get awful mad!" added a girl wearing gold and a pale orange.  
Illness and Greed turned around.  
"More of them?" asked Greed, green eyes growing wide.  
The other two Scouts smiled.  
"Sailor Earth!" the green and tan one yelled.  
"And Sailor Polaris!" the gold and light orange girl added.  
Suddenly, two Scouts dropped down from the catwalks above the theater.  
"Sailor Moon!" said the one with a pink, red, and blue outfit.  
"Sailor Aurora Borealis!" said the one in lavender and dark blue.  
Greed and Illness stared at each other. "Uh..." Greed smiled blankly.  
"We're outnumbered..." muttered the man in brown.  
Polaris raised a hand high into the air. "Starry Sky..." She brought her   
arm away from her body and downward. "SMASH!"  
A giant, radiating ball of light fell towards the two strange evils.  
They both disappeared in the knick of time.  
The director was freed. The stage changed back. The ball vanished.  
"Who were they?" asked Polaris, rushing down to the stage, where a dazed   
Comet and a smirking Phoenix stood.  
"I know just about as much as you two do." Comet responded.  
Earth sighed. "Thank the Earth you're alright."  
Phoenix smiled.  
Moon and Aurora Borealis smiled at their friends. "Well, that was fun."  
"Who are you?" Slowly, carefully, the director walked down the steps to   
the stage.   
Sailor Moon smiled and bowed slightly. "I am Sailor Moon, the Champion of   
Justice."  
From the back of the theater, a pink cat smiled.  
************  
  
"I don't believe that we almost got our butts kicked by a couple of   
sniveling teenagers!" Greed exclaimed, pacing around the room with a dangerous   
gleam in her eyes.  
The woman in the gray dress smiled. Her hair was a purest white, and her   
eyes were both nearly black. "You need to calm down, Greed," she scolded, laying   
back in her chair. "His Majesty will take your restlessness as a weakness."  
"Shut up!" Greed retorted, lowering her eyes.  
A man in a rather nondescript black outfit shook his head. "Doubt, you'll   
only upset her more."  
The woman muttered something under her breath.  
"What's that?" asked the man in black.  
"Nothing, Death," responded Doubt in a falsetto tone.  
Another man, dressed in red, stood behind Greed. "I think you are all..."   
he paused dramatically. "Weak." He spat out the word, as though it was a   
horrible sin to say such a thing.  
"And since when have you been brave?" asked the shapely Doubt. Reclining   
further into her seat, she smiled sweetly. "I'm sorry, Violence, but we all know   
who is second in command."  
Illness bristled. "But Greed and I are in charge of the mission!" he   
retorted, looking at her with hate in his brown eyes.   
"Yeah!" Greed chimed in, jumping up. "You're all glory hogs that want our   
spotlight!"  
The man in the black looked to the ground. "Not all of us want to steal   
the spotlight," he blushed, staring at the woman.  
"Sorry, Death," Greed blushed, turning to Violence and Doubt. "But YOU   
TWO, on the other hand..."  
Appearing out of nowhere, the man in the crimson and black sighed. "Stop   
bickering."  
The four standing people bowed. Doubt nodded to him. All turned silent.  
"Who is the second in command?" he asked, crossing his arms and walking to   
the center of the group. "Well?"  
"Doubt is," condescended Greed, looking at the deep bur-bur carpet.  
The woman in gray smiled, smoothing her white hair.  
"And who is in charge of this mission?" The man looked to the one in the   
red clothing.  
Violence sighed. "Illness and Greed are," he responded, biting his lip.  
"Exactly." He looked at each of the five once, silver years never   
wavering. "We are the Raider Band of the Andromeda Galaxy, come to claim Earth."   
He smiled. "Tell me, who is in charge of you all?"  
Death looked up, dark eyes sparkling. "You are. You're the King."  
The King nodded. "Correct." Pacing up and down the room, he looked to   
Greed. "Now, tell me," he began, flipping his silver hair behind his shoulder.   
"How do you plan to deal with the Sailor Scouts?"  
************  
  
"And I wasn't very good at trumpet." Reeny looked into the blue teacup   
with a deep sigh.  
Alexandra chuckled from her seat across the room. "I heard a story that   
was a bit different," she retorted, sipping her own tea.  
The stern, aqua-haired woman who sat with the Princess lowered her eyes.   
"Alex..." she warned.  
Running a hand through her blonde hair, Alex just chuckled once more.   
"Subject dropped." She set her cup on the coffee table and gave Michelle a quick   
peck on the cheek. "See you later," she smiled, exiting the small blue house.  
Blushing, Reeny turned back to her tea. "Uh..."  
Michelle smiled knowingly. "How long have you known us, Princess?" she   
asked softly, flipping some aquamarine hair behind her shoulder.   
"A long time." The pink haired girl blushed deeper.  
"I rest my case." Looking at a few pieces of paper, she bit her lip.   
"Well, are you interested in vocal lessons?"  
"I'm not aloud to sing..." Reeny commented, eyeing the cookies on the   
table.   
"How about flute?" Michelle crossed out the first suggestion on the sheet.  
Shrugging, Reeny looked at Michelle doubtfully. "Probably not my kind of   
instrument," she sighed.  
Michelle crossed out another idea. "Violin?"  
"No."  
"Harp?"  
"Nah..."  
"Bass! Everybody loves the bass!"  
"I don't know... Probably not..."  
The list went on, and on, and on...  
************  
  
Meanwhile, at Crystal Music Academy, five people sat in the theater.  
Looking bored.  
"Why exactly are we here?" asked a very tired and sarcastic Alice with a   
sigh.   
Rolling her eyes, Haley sighed. "Because we got attacked here yesterday?"  
Tara, who was reading some sort of ancient history book, looked up with a   
sigh. "I don't sense any evil spirits, you guys. Why don't we just all go home?"  
The girl with the midnight blue hair jumped up and looked at her four   
friends. "What are your problems?" she asked angrily. "We are trying to protect   
the world and you're all whining about it!"  
"Our moms never sat around, Phoebe. We're waiting for evil to claim us   
like a flock of sitting ducks." Lyra sighed. "If Greed and Illness DO come back,   
then they'll see us transform, and we'll be dead meat."  
"Our mission is to be better than our mothers!" Phoebe exclaimed, pacing   
nervously. "We have to be better than them! Stronger than them! More powerful,   
more daring, more alive..."  
"I think this comes down to you and your mother," interrupted Tara softly.   
"I don't think that this has anything to do with the destruction of evil."  
Looking away from the girl, Phoebe felt Tara's green eyes focus on her.  
"Am I right?"   
Swallowing hard, Phoebe turned back to her friends-not so much in anger,   
but in frustration. "Go home..." she replied softly. "I think I'm going to go   
home..." Walking out the theater doors, Phoebe began to cry.  
The other Scouts sat in silence until her footfalls were no longer   
audible.  
"Finally!" exclaimed Haley, diving for her bag.  
"I thought she'd never give up!" Alice stood, smiling.  
Tara and Lyra looked at each other.   
"Guys..." Lyra softly addressed her friends. "I think that Pheebs was   
really upset."  
Tara nodded, slowly picking up her backpack.  
"And what's that supposed to mean?" asked Alice, confused.  
Tara sighed. "I think we upset her..."  
The four girls looked at the ground in silence.  
And the echoes of "Phoebe!" were heard throughout Crystal Music Academy as   
four girls tore down the hall after their friend.  
************  
  
Michelle ran a hand through her hair and looked at the list. Thirty ideas   
for instruments, and Reeny had shot each and every one down as though they were   
spy planes.  
"Well, Reeny, what are you good at?" Michelle went over to the stove and   
poured herself a fifth cup of tea.  
The Princess looked at the now empty plate of cookies and thought-hard.   
"I'm a good leader..."  
Michelle nodded.  
"And I give directions well..."  
Sitting back down, Michelle sighed deeply. "And?"  
Reeny smiled. "I can boss people around, get things done, and be a very   
commanding force."  
"Perfect..." Michelle smiled broadly. "You're absolutely perfect..."  
Red eyes grew wide. "Huh?"  
"Reeny," the woman asked, "would you like to be a drum major?"  
"A WHAT?" Reeny's eyes bugged out, and her pink hair nearly stood on end.   
"A drum major," Michelle repeated, sipping her tea. "Someone who controls   
the marching band."  
Reeny considered this silently for a moment.  
A wide smile spread across her face.  
"Totally Galactic!" was her response.  
************  
  
The theater was empty.  
"Just perfect," came a sarcastic female voice. "Whose bright idea was   
this, anyway?"  
Another voice, this one male, snorted before answering. "It was yours."  
"Oh." Greed shook her head slowly. "This just won't do."  
Illness, taking the hood down off his head, sighed in exasperation. "And   
WHY NOT?" he asked, running a thin hand through his messy brown hair.  
She jumped up onto the stage with grace. "Because those Sailor Girls are   
supposed to be here!" Greed kicked the back wall of the set with a green boot.   
"This isn't fair!" She kicked it harder.  
The man in brown looked up from a sheet of paper. He smiled. "I think we   
could have a much bigger turn-out if we wait a few days."  
Whirling around in a fluid motion, Greed raised an eyebrow. "And why is   
that?" Sarcasm hung in the air.  
Illness grinned. "Opening night is just two days away."   
"Don't you even THINK of cackling!" she warned.  
He cackled menacingly.  
Groaning, Greed threw a few props at him.   
************  
  
"I conduct this orchestra out of love and dedication."  
Alice stared at Michelle. The seemingly young woman with the long,   
aquamarine hair, stood in front of thirty teens. In a timeless fashion, she   
looked each and every one of her students in the eyes.  
"And you will play in that same manner." She picked up a violin. "Irina!   
What is this?"  
The concertmistress started. She had been paying attention, but she hadn't   
the faintest idea what her teacher was talking about. "A violin?" she asked   
softly, shrugging.  
A voice from the back of the room spoke. "Your lifeblood." It chuckled a   
bit. "Your instrument is your lifeblood."  
It was then that Alice first noticed the woman at the piano.  
"Exactly." The teal haired woman grinned. "Students, it is my pleasure to   
introduce my assistant and friend, Alexandra Tenou."   
Blonde and tall, Alexandra rose. Though she had been at the Meeting of   
Mistresses, Alice now realized that she had never really known who the woman   
was. She was thin, strong-looking, and seemed to have an air of considerate   
cockiness about her.  
"Music." Her voice was deep and strong. "Music can teach you about dozens   
of emotions... Many of which are impossible to say in words alone." Staring at   
Michelle, she smiled broadly. "Like love, for one."  
Michelle blushed deeply and looked the floor. Alexandra blushed too, but   
more subtly. "Love..." The teacher said it half-heartedly, as though her mind   
had wandered elsewhere.  
Chuckling, Alice raised a hand. "Miss Kaiou," she asked, acting   
nonchalant, "do we get to play in the musical with all the other musicians?"  
Biting her lip, Michelle glanced thoughtfully at Alex. "What do you   
think?" she asked, directing the question to the pianist.  
Alex shrugged. "If they want to." It was a definite statement.  
"If you want to." Opening her score, she took out a tiny baton. "Now, open   
your folder and take out 'Moonlight Legend'. We will begin at measure six, with   
a solo from Irina..."  
Alice wasn't listening. She was grinning.  
I'm going to join the musical, she thought to herself.  
************  
  
Phoebe sat on the edge of the stage, her feet dangling. In one hand, she   
held a script. In the other, her locket.  
"Just great," she muttered sarcastically. "I get my first lead role in a   
musical, and some sort of evil union from some virtually unknown galaxy is after   
me." Looking at the locket and then the script, the blue haired teen sighed.  
"But which do I chose?" Standing, she stood on the set. She kicked at a   
discarded prop. "Is my future as an actress more important than my future as a   
Scout?"  
A voice picked up from behind her. "Or should it matter, Phoebe?"  
Leaning on her cello, more out of habit than for support, Alice Kino   
shrugged half-heartedly. "Maybe they're equally important. Maybe Sailor Phoenix   
is as important as Phoebe."  
"What do you mean by that, Alice?" She played with her braid.   
Alice set her cello on the floor and then sat down by her friend. "Well,   
Phoebe, I think you're trying to make a decision that can't be made." She   
smiled. "Sailor Phoenix and Phoebe are the exact same person. Simple as pie. You   
can't try to go against your human nature. You're Phoebe. You can't try to go   
against your Scout nature. You're Phoenix."  
Phoebe raised an eyebrow. "Are you telling me to give up?"  
Another familiar voice spoke up. "She's telling you to accept it."  
Haley walked down the aisle towards the stage with a smile on her face.   
"After all, none of this is your fault, Phoebe."  
Phoebe smiled a bit. "Thanks guys." Looking around, her expression turned   
puzzled. "Where are the others?"  
"I think they are at band." Alice smiled helpfully. "Even Reeny, I think."  
Haley grimaced. "She is."  
"Why so grim?" Phoebe asked, scratching her head.  
The pianist sighed and looked at Phoebe and Alice. "It seems our dear   
Princess is now a drum major..."  
************  
  
"Band! Halt!" Reeny, pink pigtails flying, ran up to a crooked line and   
started fixing it.   
Lyra and Tara looked at one another with wide eyes.  
"She's good," noted the tuba player.  
Tara smiled weakly. "At least she enjoys it," she responded.  
"Don't you start!" Lyra stomped a foot. "Tara, this is GOOD for you.   
You're getting away from the temple and having some fun doing it, too."  
"Fun?" The Shinto swept hair behind her shoulders. "Lyra, you have a sick   
sense of fun."  
The blonde stuck out her tongue.   
"Lyra! Tara!" came a high voice.  
Tara grimaced and snapped to attention. Lyra struggled to get her   
sousaphone back around her body.  
"What do you two think you're doing?" Reeny, in her sweatshirt and jeans,   
stalked over. She looked like a different person without her white gown on.   
"This is a MARCHING band. NOT a 'let's chit-chat' band!"   
"Sorry, Princess." Tara bowed her head.  
Reeny's face grew red. "Don't call me Princess!" she ordered sternly.  
Tara smirked. Lyra winked at her friend.  
Nodding with smile, Reeny walked back to the front of the band. "As I was   
saying..."  
"Reeny! Tara! Lyra!" came a loud voice. "Guys!"  
Alice, Haley, and Phoebe came running towards the band, panting.  
Reeny tried to keep the worry off her face as she looked at the trio.   
"What's wrong, guys?" she asked, voice wavering a bit with worry.  
"Diana...called and..." Wheezing, Alice tried to talk. "One...sec..."  
Haley, who was barely winded, sighed. "Diana called, and they need us as   
soon as possible."  
"Crap." Lyra dismounted her instrument and trotted over.  
"Uh-oh..." Tara dropped her clarinet on the ground and joined the others.  
Smoothing her pink hair, Reeny sighed. "Am I supposed to just ditch the   
band?"  
"Are we supposed to just ignore our destinies?" Tara's voice was gruff and   
firm. "We may have joined this musical mayhem, but that doesn't stop us from   
fulfilling our duties."  
"Tara's right!" Phoebe agreed, smiling at the youngest Scout. "We have to   
do this! Come on, Reeny!" She took off running.   
Reeny sighed and turned to the band. "Band, we're going to cancel early   
today. See you all tomorrow." She ran to catch up with the others.  
The cheer that went up amongst the band when Reeny said those words was   
audible ten miles away.  
************  
  
Diana sat in the kitchen. She was drinking a saucer of milk, and enjoying   
the quiet. With Reeny off at band, the Crystal Palace was peacefully empty.  
For that reason, Diana choked on her milk when six girls burst into the   
kitchen together.  
"What are..." Coughing, the cat held out a paw.   
"What...are...you...doing...here?" she gasped, trying to breathe with milk   
halfway down her windpipe.  
"You called a meeting." Haley, hardly breathing heavier than normal while   
the other Scouts were nearly doubled over, looked at the cat with her vividly   
aqua eyes.  
Diana shrugged. "Girls, that was well over an HOUR ago."  
Reeny looked daggers at her guardian. "We were at Crystal Music Academy,   
stupid. That's nearly five miles away!" She exclaimed, pouring herself a glass   
of water with one hand and clutching her side with the other.   
Enlightenment dawning on her, Phoebe rubbed her temples. "We can Sailor   
Teleport, guys..."  
Raising a blonde eyebrow, Lyra looked at Phoebe. "We can Sailor WHAT?" she   
asked.  
"Teleport," supplied Diana, licking a patch of her pink fur. "You guys   
didn't have to run all the way here, you know."  
Tara coughed and leaned against the kitchen counter. Closing her eyes, she   
sighed. "Why did you call this meeting?" she asked, changing the subject.  
Diana blushed. "Dang... I don't remember."  
Six pairs of eyes stared at a pink cat.  
"What?" she asked innocently. "It's not like you guys went all that out of   
your way..."  
"Yes we did, Diana." Reeny smiled sweetly. "I abandoned my band."  
Lyra chewed her lip. "I left my sousaphone sitting on the cold ground."  
"I skipped orchestra," commented Alice.  
Phoebe ground her teeth. "I skipped musical practice."  
"And I missed the musical practice too," finished Haley.  
Everyone looked expectantly at Tara, who was standing, half asleep, on the   
outside of the group.  
"I don't really care," she commented warily. "It's the lesser of two   
evils."  
With that, Lyra stalked out of the room, slamming the door behind her.  
That woke Tara up.  
"What's her problem?" asked Reeny, cocking her head at Tara. "Did I miss   
something?"  
Alice laughed a bit. "You miss nearly everything, Reen, but I have an odd   
feeling that this is not including us."  
Diana jumped off the table and stretched. "Okay. Tara, you go find Lyra   
and make up. Phoebe, Alice, Reeny, and Haley..." She turned to the older four   
girls. "You come with me to the Queen's parlor-we'll figure something out."  
The other four filed out, leaving Tara and the guardian cat.  
"Good luck, Sailor Earth," said the cat with a smile.  
"I'll need it," the girl responded, walking out.  
************  
  
"I don't see why we're doing this your way," spat Greed, floating about   
ten feet above the stage.  
Illness, who was rigging the backdrop of the play to come crashing down   
during the main song, looked up at his companion. "You don't have any ideas that   
don't involve hunting down the Sailor Scouts and cutting them into little   
pieces." He growled a bit.  
Greed turned onto her stomach in midair. "And what's the matter with my   
idea, Illness? Yours is totally boring!"  
"Because, if that blue-haired actress is the Princess, and you obviously   
think that..."  
"I never said that, Illness! You assumed that!" interrupted the woman,   
sticking her tongue out.  
Illness grimaced. "As I was trying to say, Greed, if she IS the Princess,   
we can take her out and make it look like an accident."  
Greed yawned and turned onto her back. "I don't see why we don't just take   
out Neo-Queen Serenity and deal with it all that way."  
"Neo-Queen Serenity could beat you up by sticking out a hand." Illness   
tightened a rope. "Besides, it's not like the Princess is capable of beating us   
up."  
"And what are we supposed to do when the Sailor Scouts show up?" she   
asked, brushing a bit of dust off her green leather. "Just smile and go away?"  
He shrugged. "We can always fight. We almost won last time."  
"You have a sick sense of victory, Illness," commented Greed with a sigh.   
"We were almost smashed by Sailor Polaris' stupid attack."  
"And you got burnt by Sailor Phoenix." Illness choked back a chuckle and   
smiled broadly.  
"NOT FUNNY!" yelled Greed, pouting. Changing the subject, she stared at   
Illness' handiwork. "So, when's opening night?"  
"Tomorrow." Illness smiled. "Victory is ours."  
"Definitely," Greed chimed in.  
************  
  
Lyra was crying. Sitting alone in the rose garden where she had sat so few   
weeks ago, she cried for everything and everyone. It wasn't fair that her   
friend-quite possibly her best friend-hated marching band. It was healthy for   
her. It was good fun. It helped people to learn...  
"Why are you crying?" came a familiar voice.   
Lyra looked at Tara with a sob. "Because you hate everything that is dear   
to me."  
The dark haired girl sat next to her friend. "It isn't easy for me."  
"What isn't?" asked an upset Lyra.  
"Life. Being a Sailor, being pulled from home-schooling, being at   
Crossroads, being in band, having friends..." She sighed deeply. "I've never   
really been around people before..."  
"SO?" Lyra's voice was slightly angry. "That doesn't give you a right! It   
doesn't! It doesn't!" Her sobs grew.  
"I don't get it." Tara walked up to a fountain shaped like the Queen and   
shrugged, staring deep into the water. "You've never been unhappy for thirty   
seconds, until now." Tara bit a lip to keep from crying herself. "I, on the   
other hand, have never been much happier. Granted, that isn't saying much..."   
That drew her over the edge. One by one, tears dropped into the crystalline   
water of the fountain. "We've all got destinies to follow, and I don't think it   
is very helpful for us to be upset over something like this..."  
Lyra smiled and ran a hand through her messy and tangled blonde hair.   
"Tara, are you trying to apologize to me?"  
Tara blushed through her tears. "I'm trying to tell you that you are, by   
far, the closest friend I have ever had in my life..."  
The blonde smiled. "I can live with that." She got up and wrapped her arms   
around Tara. "You're my best friend, too."  
Tara hugged her back. "I'm so glad."  
"Now," Lyra smiled, making her way to the door, "aren't we missing a Scout   
meeting?"  
************  
  
"And that's that." Diana smiled. "Thank goodness we got this straightened   
out."  
"The Raiders of the Andromeda Galaxy? Well, what would they be doing in   
the Milky Way?" Phoebe chewed on the eraser of her pencil.  
Lyra stared at a star chart. "Hmm...Well, we are one of the few inhabited   
galaxies, so, for universal conquest..."  
"We're a great place to start," finished Alice with a sigh. "Yippee! Now,   
we're stuck fighting some psychos with funny names."  
Rolling her eyes, Tara flipped through the book she was reading. "I   
believe their names have something to do with their personalities."  
Alice stuck out her tongue. "Please, Tara, what kind of half-wit idea is   
that?"  
"A pretty true one, Al," commented Haley, laying back in her chair. "After   
all, Greed is a cocky little brat with no mind for others..."  
"And Illness seems awful weak," continued Phoebe.  
Diana nodded. "Reeny, what do you think?"  
No response.  
"Reeny?"  
The Princess was curled up on a couch in the parlor, sucking her thumb.   
She was completely asleep.  
"REENY!" screamed the cat, jumped onto the sleeping Princess' stomach.   
"Get up, you lazy girl!"  
She instead rolled over. "Just five more minutes, Mom," she mumbled.  
The Scouts giggled.  
"NOW!" Diana dug her claws into the soft flesh of the Princess' upper arm.  
Sitting bolt upright, the Princess knocked Diana off her lap and into the   
wall. "Am I late?" she asked nervously.  
Groaning, her guardian stood on shaky legs. "Thanks, Reeny..."  
"OH MY GOSH!" Reeny exclaimed, jumping up and cradling her little cat.   
"Are you alright, Di?"  
The cat nodded carefully. "I think so."  
Phoebe, glancing at her watch, stood. "I should go. Opening night's   
tomorrow."  
Diana bristled. "I want you all there. And I want to go."  
"How cute!" commented Reeny with a grin. "You like the arts!"  
"No, Reeny. You missed the boat on that one." Diana jumped onto the table   
which the Scouts were sitting around. "I think that you guys should be there in   
case of danger."  
"There's not going to be danger!" complained Reeny.  
Phoebe didn't look too convinced. "I got attacked during rehearsal the   
other day."  
Haley nodded. "I think they're looking for the Princess."  
"ME?" Reeny's red eyes grew wide. "Why would they?"  
"You're expendable. You're young." Tara was completely serious. "And they   
have no clue that you're Sailor Moon."  
"Oh crap. I never thought of that." Diana paled. "Reeny, you will go as   
a...a stage manager." She turned to Phoebe. "Can you pull that off?"  
The Scout of the Sun nodded and put out a hand. "In the name of   
Phoenix..." she smiled.  
Tara smiled and put out a hand. "And in the name of the Earth..."  
"And in the name of Comet..." Haley added her hand.  
"In the name of Aurora Borealis," chimed in Alice.  
"In the name of Polaris." Lyra threw in her hand.  
Reeny was the last to respond. She smiled. "In the name of the Moon..."  
************  
  
Tara was the first one to notice that the backdrop of the stage was   
wobbling dangerously.  
It was opening night of the musical. Phoebe and her co-star, Thomas, were   
standing opposite the stage from one another, delivering the set up for the main   
theme. She looked more like an angel than a teenage girl.  
Everything was going perfectly. Both Haley and Alice were doing great in   
the orchestra pit, and Reeny wasn't a half-bad stage manager. To make matters   
better, Lyra, Tara, and their families were sitting with the families of the   
rest of the Scouts. Even the King and Queen were in attendance.  
But then, Tara saw the backdrop wobble.  
And Lyra noticed the gleam of green eyes coming from near the ceiling.  
"Lyra..." Tara hissed. "The backdrop..."  
"I think I see Greed..." she whispered back.  
Without words, both girls stood.  
The backdrop began to fall.  
Straight towards an oblivious Phoebe...  
"But look at me and smile now..." she sang, unaware of what was happening.  
"PHOEBE!" screamed Tara and Lyra in unison, jumping onto the stage without   
a second thought.  
And that's when the backdrop came crashing down.  
************  
  
"SHIT!" Haley jumped off the piano bench and ran onto the stage.   
There was no sign of Lyra, Tara, or Phoebe.  
Neo-Queen Serenity and King Endymion stood. "OUT!" Endymion screamed at   
the top of his lungs. His deep voice radiated throughout the theater. "EVERYONE   
OUT!"  
The audience obeyed.  
On an impulse, Alice jumped up and ran backstage. Haley followed.  
And then, Alice dropped to her knees, sobbing.  
Not in sorrow, but in joy.  
Phoebe, Tara, and Lyra were all safely on the floor, dazed but unhurt.   
And Reeny was standing over them.  
"Reeny?" asked Haley, eyes wide. "Did you..."  
The Princess shrugged. "They needed saving, and you two would have been   
more helpful if you were glued to your seats." She smiled. "They don't call me   
Sailor Moon for nothing, you know."  
Haley smiled.  
The trio on the floor all stood. "What happened?" asked Phoebe.  
"Greed is here, and Illness too, most likely." Lyra rubbed her cheek,   
which had been cut in the accident. "And they cut the backdrop..."  
"Reeny saved us," Tara responded, standing on her shaky legs.   
Phoebe swallowed. "Time for some action."  
"You're telling me!" Reeny pulled out her locket.  
The others did, too.  
"Moon Galactic Power! Make-Up!"  
"Earth Galactic Power! Make-Up!"  
"Polaris Galactic Power! Make-Up!"  
"Phoenix Galactic Power! Make-Up!"  
"Aurora Borealis Galactic Power! Make-Up!"  
"Comet Galactic Power! Make-Up!"  
************  
  
Greed did a victory dance on the stage. "We got her!" she yelled,   
grinning.  
"WE?" asked Illness, crossing his arms. "Whose idea was this?"  
"Mine!" Greed continued dancing.  
Illness shook his head slowly.  
And that was when a voice rang through the room.  
"STOP RIGHT THERE!"  
Greed did just that. "Oh...no..." she groaned.  
A young girl with pink meatball-style hair stood on the piano. She, of   
course, was wearing a Sailor fuku.  
"I am Sailor Moon! I fight for love and justice and the occasional nap! On   
behalf of the Moon, I'll will punish you!"  
Five other Scouts dropped from the ceiling.  
"AND SO WILL WE!" they chorused.  
Greed hit herself in her head. Illness sighed.   
"Girls, it's such a pity," he said solemnly, shrugging slightly. "Now we   
have to destroy you all."  
Suddenly, Greed smiled. "I had forgotten about that part!" A green and   
sharp-looking sword appeared in her hand. "I suppose, then, that I'll just have   
to kill you six Failures."  
It was Alice, with her impulsiveness and good intentions, who first   
attacked the two strange and evil beings.  
"Aurora Borealis..." She threw her arms straight into the air. "SHINING!"  
A bright and blinding light erupted from the air, shattering the near-  
peace and knocking both the aliens against the back wall of the theater.  
"Uh..." Illness was the first to stand and, shaking, he looked at the   
Sailor Scouts. "You...you little brats!"  
Diana, appearing from behind the broken backdrop, screamed to the Scouts.  
"WATCH OUT!"  
Of course, it was too late for most of the Sailors. Illness had woven a   
rope from...well, something...and had tied up all the Sailors except for Sailor   
Moon.  
She backed into a corner and began to shake a bit. "Uh...Mister   
Illness..." she pleaded, looking up with teary red eyes. "How about we...uh...we   
talk about not hurting me?"  
The pink cat swallowed hard. "Be strong, Sailor Moon!" she screamed.  
And then, a miracle occurred.  
Diana did a large backflip and an long rod appeared in midair.  
All six Scouts gasped and stared at the object.  
Diana smiled. "Finally, I did it..." she said with a grin.  
And then, the rod disintegrated.  
Moon's eyes grew wider. Not only that, but both Illness and Greed were   
getting nearer to where she lay.  
"Diana..." Her hiss came through tightly clenched teeth. "You better have   
something better than a disintegrating STICK up your sleeve."  
Just then, Sailor Comet had an idea. "Hey, Sailor Phoenix," she said,   
nudging her blue-haired friend in the ribs, "do you think you could burn up this   
thing?" She nodded at the rope.  
Phoenix shrugged and pointed one of her hands towards the binding. "Worth   
a try... Phoenix Heat Flashing!"  
The steaming substance simply warmed up the rope to an unbearable   
temperature.  
"Smooth move!" hollered Polaris, twisting and turning, trying to get away   
from the extremely warm cable.  
"Watch it!" Sailor Aurora Borealis squealed as Polaris stomped on her   
toes. "Oww!"  
Meanwhile, Diana was still trying to produce a weapon for the young Sailor   
Moon without much luck. The fruits of her labor were a stick, a lump of coal,   
and a rather rusted Moon Scepter.  
Sailor Moon stood up and faced Greed and Illness. Smoothing her fuku, she   
looked at them with her red eyes.  
"You two are Moon Dust!" she yelped.  
Greed huffed loudly. "Yeah, right," she commented, looking smug.  
Illness waved a hand, and Sailor Moon found herself in the same bind-  
literally-as the other Scouts.  
Struggling, she glared at them. "This isn't over!" she exclaimed.  
Buffing her black nails on her clothing, Greed smirked. "I'm afraid that   
it is, Moon Brat." She smiled sweetly and turned her back to the Scouts. "Soon   
enough, you six will find yourselves in a world ruled by our king."  
The brown-robed man cackled, warranting a stern look from his companion.   
"That's right," he said, halting his laugh. "The Raiders of the Andromeda Galaxy   
have come! And will stay forever!" He raised his hands high. "FOREVER!"  
Suddenly, and without any warning, a purple rose flew through the air and   
broke the line that bound five of the six Sailor Scouts.  
And a young voice filled the air. "Small Star Shatter!" it exclaimed.  
The ceiling rained little shards of twinkling light. It was almost glass.  
Two dark figures stood on the piano, where Sailor Moon had first stood.   
One was very tall and masculine, and the other was short and slightly chubby.  
"What the heck?" Lyra's jaw dropped.  
Tara gasped. "I do believe that our destinies cross with that of   
others..."  
The figures dropped down from the piano top.  
"I am the Starlit Prince," the tall one said. It was a young man, probably   
in his late teens, with a black tuxedo on. He wore a purple cape and-of course-  
the classic ballroom mask.   
The other figure stepped forth. "And I am that cute little girl called   
Sailor Chibi-Star!" A girl, about six years old, stood next to the Starlit   
Prince. She wore a purple and yellow Sailor fuku, and had extremely blonde hair.   
The hair was held back with an enormous purple bow.  
Greed stared at the two. So did Illness. "I swore that we were only   
briefed about six Scouts..." the woman breathed, blushing.  
"I was, too." Illness looked at the young man with a thoughtful glance.   
"And I've never...EVER...heard of a Starlit Prince."  
By this time, the Scouts had recovered and had managed to free Sailor   
Moon. They stood together, staring at their saviors.  
"The Starlit Prince..." breathed Moon and Aurora in a starling unison.  
Sailor Polaris, on the other hand, was looking at Sailor Chibi-Star. She   
chewed her bottom lip thoughtfully. "Where have I seen that kid before?"  
Just then, Chibi-Star and the Starlit Prince jumped high into the air and   
away from the two Raiders.  
That meant only one thing...  
"GET THEM!" screamed the Starlit Prince, landing with his small companion   
on the stage.  
Sailors Earth and Comet looked at one another and smiles spread across the   
two faces.  
"Earthly Thunderstorm...STRIKE!" Thunder, lightening, and pouring rain   
came down around Greed.  
"Comet Crater... CLOSE!" The floor opened up and threatened to quite   
literally swallow Illness.  
The two looked at each other.  
"You haven't won yet, brats," commented Illness, blinking out of   
existence.  
Greed waved and smiled sweetly, flashing fangs. "See you later, kiddies!"   
She was gone, too.  
The six Scouts took inventory.  
"Is everyone alright?" asked Phoenix, looking at her friends.  
The Starlit Prince, smoothing his cape, was stern. "Your abilities cannot   
be put to good use if you get caught in traps, Scouts." He turned his back and   
began to walk away from them.  
"YEAH!" chimed in Chibi-Star. "You guys should be more careful. Like my   
bigger sister would be." She began to follow the Prince.  
"Wait!" exclaimed Moon, launching herself in front of the duo. "Who are   
you? Where do you come from? Why are you helping us?" Her face was pale and   
featureless as she looked at them.  
The Prince stared back at her with startling blue eyes. "Sailor Moon," he   
spoke sternly, "I cannot tell you that."  
Chibi-Star just smiled. "Some other time. Bye-bye!"  
They both jumped up into the air and were gone.  
"Wow," said Sailor Comet, staring at them. "They sure are really brave,   
facing Greed and Illness like they did."  
Sailor Aurora Borealis just sighed. "Is that Starlit Prince cute or what?"   
she asked, grinning wistfully.  
"Or what!" agreed Moon, staring into space.  
Rolling her eyes, Sailor Earth shook her head slowly. "My mother warned me   
about those two..." she muttered softly.  
And then, an almost-white light flared up, nearly blinding the six Scouts.  
"I DID IT!" cried Diana from somewhere in the light. "I finally DID it!"  
The light died down, and a pink, blue and red rod with hearts and moons on   
it fell to the ground next to all the clutter than Diana had managed to make   
during her backflipping.  
"What's that?" asked Sailor Phoenix, crouching to look at it.  
The pink cat beamed with pride. "It's the Galactic Rod. Only the Guardian   
of the Neo-Sailor Moon can awaken it and bring it to action."  
"Neo-Sailor Moon?" Sailor Earth tugged on a strand of ebony hair. "Do you   
mean to say that..."  
"The Queen could never have used this Rod," finished the Moon cat with a   
smile. "The Galactic Sailors are not lead by Sailor Moon, but by Neo-Sailor   
Moon." She looked at the pink haired Scout. "Princess Reeny."  
Right then, the doors to the theater opened, and people began to rush in.  
"Uh-oh," mumbled Comet with a sigh. "We'd better get out of here before   
they start with the photos."  
"You're telling me!" exclaimed Diana, running off with the rest of them.  
Sailor Moon was the last one to go. Picking up the Galactic Rod, she   
smiled a bit and looked out at the crowd. All the people were staring straight   
at her, wide-eyed.  
"I AM SAILOR MOON!"  
And with that, she left.  
************  
  
Sailor Chibi-Star and the Starlit Prince stood on the roof of the school,   
watching the Sailor Scouts run off the campus.  
"And somewhere, here in Tokyo, they will untransform and become normal   
kids again." The Prince shrugged and looked at his young companion. "And   
someday, we'll find out who they really are."  
The green eyes of the girl looked up at him thoughtfully. "Will I ever   
find out who you really are?" she asked hopefully.  
He shrugged a bit. "Only time will tell, little one." He jumped to the   
nearest rooftop and waved to her. "Until then..."  
"Till then..." repeated Chibi-Star, sighing. "Till then, I have to try to   
find out who all those Sailors are all by myself. If only my sister could   
help..." She smiled to herself. "If only ANY of my sisters could help!"  
And with that, Sailor Chibi-Star started towards home.  
************  
  
"Where's Phoebe?" asked Alice, working on her sewing project.  
Tara, as always, stared into the flickering flames. Her fire reading   
skills had improved a bit, and the Scouts were due to attempt another fire   
reading.  
Lyra, munching on some French fries, shrugged a bit. "I don't know. Didn't   
she say that her parents were going to decide about the Academy today?"  
Haley's face lit up and her teal eyes danced. "That's right!" she   
exclaimed with a large grin. "I totally forgot about that! I wonder what they'll   
say..." She trailed off thoughtfully.  
Reeny, who was cradling the Galactic Rod and had been since its   
appearance, smiled at her friends. "I think she'd be happy even if she didn't   
make it."  
"I agree, Princess," Tara chimed in quietly.  
"DON'T YOU GO CALLING ME PRINCESS!" she exclaimed, raising the Rod over   
her head and aiming it for Tara.  
Diana sighed. "That's not how you are to use the Galactic Rod, Reeny!" she   
scolded.  
Then, the door to the room slowly opened, and a very sedate Phoebe walked   
in.  
Her hair was a mess, her ice blue eyes were sad, and her school uniform   
was disheveled.  
"Hi, guys," she breathed, looking at her friends.  
Haley stood up slowly and smiled sadly. "Oh, Phoebe, I'm so sorry..."  
"For what?" Phoebe's frown turned to a grin instantly. Her eyes sparked   
alive. "My parents said yes!"  
Six cheers went up in unison.  
************  
  
Doubt laughed. Loudly. Greed forced herself to cover her ears.  
"But it's not like that!" she protested, pouting. Her green leather was   
scuffed, and her black braid was loose and unkempt.  
The woman in the gray dress smiled wickedly. "Oh, please. Spare me, kid.   
You are so pathetic, it scares me."  
"It's not our fault!" protested Illness, nursing a painful ankle. "There   
was this other Scout..." Giving up, he leaned back in his chair with a deep   
sigh.  
Death, putting a protective arm around Greed, glared at Doubt. "Cut it   
out, okay? She didn't do anything wrong."  
Sneering, the older woman crossed her arms. Her dress instantly changed to   
a silver tint. "You'd do anything to protect your little girlfriend."  
Suddenly, the Raider King appeared. He looked at the five minions with a   
shake of his head.  
"I don't care that there was another Scout," he said to Illness, looking   
at him with silver eyes. "And I really don't care about that Prince character."   
He smiled smugly at Greed. "I did not expect you to win that battle."  
Both Illness and Greed looked relieved.  
"Sailor Moon has the Galactic Rod."  
Violence's red eyes grew wide. "You've got to be kidding, Majesty."  
"Do I kid, Violence?" He turned his back to his five underlings and   
shrugged. "I want that Rod." He began to walk away, but his last words echoed   
through the chamber.  
"Or else."  
************  
  
The Galactic Sailors Say!  
  
Tara: Sometimes, people fight with their moms and dads.  
(A photo of Phoebe and Amy screaming at one another is flashes onscreen.)  
Tara: (with a very wicked grin) But, not all people are even lucky enough to   
have both a mom and a dad.  
(An unflattering photo of Alice with devil horns flashes onscreen.)  
Alice's Voice: (off-screen) Aurora Borealis...SHINING!  
(Tara disappears in a flash of light and Chibi-Star appears in her place.)  
Chibi-Star: We all have role models.   
Starlit Prince: (appearing) Chibi-Star... We have a mission...  
Chibi-Star: Aw...shucks...  
(Both leave and Phoebe appears)  
Phoebe: (smiling) Seriously, though, music is an important part of everyone's   
lives. It remains a life-long experience for each and every person on the   
planet.  
Diana: (appearing) So please, spay and neuter your pets.  
Phoebe: WAIT! What script do you have, Diana?  
Diana: (blushing) Sorry, I dug this out of DiC's "Sailor Says" file. Sorry.  
Phoebe: (loudly) Tara! What script do YOU have?  
Tara: (off-screen) It's the one about parents... AH! Alice, watch it!  
Phoebe: (sighing) Music is important.  
Haley and Michelle: (appearing) (in unison) She's right. Play music.  
Reeny: (running across screen) HELP! THE CRYSTAL IS AFTER ME!  
Diana: (sighing) (sadly) That kid...  
Phoebe: Roll credits...  
  
-All You Need Is Love By Kate Butler-  
Look around...  
(Tara, sitting next to Queen Serenity, stares up at the night sky)  
So many things aren't clear...  
(Phoebe looks blankly at a math book)  
Don't worry, though...  
(Lyra smiles while picking up her tuba)  
You know that I'll be there...  
(Sailor Pluto and Haley smile knowingly at each other)  
A lot of things are so uncertain...  
(Alice looks sadly at a clock while the sun sets over Crystal Tokyo)  
The future's on its way...  
(Reeny holds the Locket of the Moon, smiling)  
Look at my crying eyes...  
(Luna and Artemis console an upset Diana)  
Don't take your love away!  
(Hannah sighs, looking at a sleeping Haley)  
  
Sometimes, the road looks long...  
(Mina looks at her children with Andrew behind her)  
And sometimes, the world seems wrong...  
(Alex and Michelle smile at one another and then blush deeply)  
But I know, I know, all you know need is love.  
(The six girls, untransformed, hold their lockets high)  
  
Sometimes, you feel weak...  
(Lita smoothes the hair of a crying Alice)  
And sometimes, the future looks bleak...  
(Raye and Chad stand behind Tara, who is staring at her locket)  
But I know, I know, all you need is love.  
(The six Galactic Sailors stand in a half circle)  
  
Times will change...  
(Amy looks out of a window and at Crystal Palace)  
People will change, too...  
(Endymion looks at Serenity, who is pouring over a book)  
But deep inside...  
(Lyra hugs her sister [Celeste])  
I always will love you...  
(Diana falls asleep on Reeny's lap)  
I suppose there are questions now...  
(Alice and Phoebe stare blankly at one another)  
The answers are so far...  
(Michelle stands in front of the orchestra, talking)  
But look at me and smile now...  
(Tara lovingly hugs her father)  
I am your guiding star!  
(Haley smiles at a studying Hannah)  
  
Sometimes, the road looks long...  
(Mina looks at her children with Andrew behind her)  
And sometimes, the world seems wrong...  
(Alex and Michelle smile at one another and then blush deeply)  
But I know, I know, all you know need is love.  
(The six girls, untransformed, hold their lockets high)  
  
Sometimes, you feel weak...  
(Lita smoothes the hair of a crying Alice)  
And sometimes, the future looks bleak...  
(Raye and Chad stand behind Tara, who is staring at her locket)  
But I know, I know, all you need is love.  
(The six Galactic Sailors stand in a half circle)  
  
I know...  
(The Planet Mistresses stand in a circle)  
I know...  
(The Galactic Sailors stand in a circle)  
All you need is love...  
(The Mistresses and Sailors all stand together, holding hands, with their eyes   
closed)  
All you need...is...love...  
(A single purple rose sits in a vase)  
  
The End!  
************  
Okay, I have a contest! Anyone who wants to create music (like, a tune) for this   
song (All You Need is Love) will get a chance to be in a fan fiction by ME! YAY!   
If you want to do it for fun, even better! The winner gets to be in a fic!  
Kate  



	3. Lost and Found

Lost And Found-A Galactic Sailors Story  
  
(Insert hilarious author's note here)  
Okay, so I can't write anything funny. Why? Because, I was twenty pages   
into this when my computer ATE my story! And the whole disk, basically.   
Out of fifteen stories, I have saved four. Sad, isn't it? Well, enjoy   
regardless. I'll try and make this one better than it would have been.  
DISCLAIMER: I don't own SM. We all know that fact. Why do I bother?   
Because I have all the time to remind you. And, I can say this: YOU   
DON'T OWN IT, EITHER! (Ghwa...ha...ha...)   
Rated PG for some language and stuff.  
Yours till the SM is mine or Christina's...  
~Kate and Christina  
P.S.Last names of married couples (i.e.-Amy and Greg's last name, Mina   
and Andrew's last name...) are those of the husband's Japanese first   
name. (i.e.-Mina Mokoti, Amy Urawa) My spelling SUCKS, so play along.   
I'll try as hard as I can...  
P.P.S.Since the bad guys live in space, day and night is different.   
Please don't yell at me for bad continuity. It's there, just...  
different...  
************  
  
THE STORY SO FAR:  
The Raider's aren't doing much better, but they're trying. Sailor   
Moon has obtained the Galactic Rod, which is infused with all the power   
of her office. The Raiders desperately want the rod.  
Meanwhile, the Sailors are still trying to understand the powers   
they have-why lockets get warm, and why the Raiders are so set on taking  
over the planet.  
And that, my friends, is where this story begins...  
************  
  
"I'm bored." For the eightieth time in two hours, the pink-haired   
Princess of the Earth glanced up from her homework. "When's dinner,   
Alice?"  
Sweeping an auburn hair out of her face, Alice Kino glared at her   
friend. "When I finish, Reeny. If you're so concerned about when we're   
eating, you make dinner on your own."  
Reeny stuck out her tongue in response.  
"Leave poor Alice alone, Reeny," commented a blonde teen. "After all,   
she's nice enough to do this."  
"Lyra's right," said a brown haired girl, who looked older than the   
rest.  
Reeny rolled her red eyes. "What would you know, Haley? She's   
obviously not making dinner fast enough..."  
"THAT'S IT!" Alice threw down her spoon in disgust. "Everything I do   
is just not good enough! Great! Then YOU make dinner, Reeny!"  
Phoebe, a girl with six thick blue braids in her hair, giggled a bit.   
"I don't think that's a really good idea, Alice-chan."  
Alice sighed a turned back to the stove, muttering under her breath.   
"Lousy Reeny... you'd think she was starved by her parents or something... I  
tell you..."  
The last girl sat apart from the rest. Her hair was raven colored and   
flowed down her back in a single ebony stream. She was tall and rather thin,  
as was her mother, and her eyes were an incredible shade of green. Though   
the others were working on homework or other important business, she was   
staring out the window.  
Phoebe rose and walked over to the girl. "And as for you, Tara-chan...  
You know you're behind the material you guys are working on in current   
events class. Why don't you and Haley..."  
Tara looked up with bloodshot eyes. Her cheeks were streaked from   
tears, and she was obviously upset. "Thank you, Phoebe, but I would much   
rather just go home and visit with my mother..."  
"Is everything alright?" Lyra looked up from her math homework. "Do   
you want to talk about it?"  
"No, I don't." Tara rose and smoothed her red and cream temple robes.  
Haley cocked her head and stared. "Are you sure you don't want to..."  
"WHY DON'T YOU GUYS EVER LISTEN?" Tara screamed, kicking her now-empty  
chair in disgust. "I'm fine! Why can't you five just mind your own damn   
business?" She stalked out of the apartment without another word, leaving   
her schoolbooks behind.  
The others exchanged concerned looks without words.  
Frowning sadly, Phoebe glanced at the floor with her ice blue eyes.   
"Chad's really sick."  
"Who?" asked Alice, raising her eyebrows.  
"Her father, Chad." She sighed a bit and toyed with a braid. "Some   
sort of virus... not even my mom knows what the heck it is, guys..."   
Trailing off she looked at the other four girls. "Sad, isn't it?"  
"Very," commented Reeny with a tear in her eye. "If it were my father,  
I'd be a total mess."  
Haley nodded at Reeny's statement. "If it were Alex or Michelle...   
Hell, even if it were Hannah..." she trailed off, not quite knowing what to   
say.  
Lyra frowned. "That explains why she's been in such a bad mood lately.  
That even explains the outburst."  
Alice remained silent. Stirring the soup she was cooking, she felt   
four sets of eyes on her.  
"What?" She whirled around. "Am I supposed to pity her?"  
Reeny rolled her eyes. "You're supposed to be sympathetic."  
"For one," began Alice, toying with the hem of her apron, "Tara is   
totally spoiled rotten by her dad. Serves her right. Number two, she's a   
brat. Period."  
"I'm afraid to even ask what three is," groaned Haley under her   
breath.   
Alice glared at the older girl with scorn. "Besides," she said, a bit   
more softly. "Tara is lucky to even know her father."  
"Is that what this is all about?" asked Haley with wide aqua eyes.   
"The fact that you don't know your father?"  
"No. It's about the fact that she doesn't realize." Smiling sadly,   
Alice sighed. "It's the fact that she doesn't realize how lucky she is to   
have a father. We have things in a breath, and then they're gone, but..."  
"We all act like they're ours by right until it's far too late..."   
Lyra sighed a stared at her friends.  
Reeny, enlightenment dawning on her face, smiled. "We have things we   
don't care about... Like friends..."  
"And sisters." Haley smiled a bit, thinking.  
Phoebe nodded. "A crappy old brown houses by Crystal Hospital."  
They all laughed at that.  
Then, Alice spoke up.  
"I may not like the kid, but I think we should help her out." Picking   
up her spoon from the countertop, she shrugged a bit. "We're Scouts. We   
vowed to work together; whether we hate each other or not."  
The other four vowed commitment.  
"Now," Alice said with a slightly twisted grin. "Who wants to eat?"  
************  
  
Five figures sat in a small parlor, all bored and tired.  
"Stupid Sailor Scouts," whined Greed, stroking her leather pants idly.  
"Because of them, we had to be up late, listening to the King talk."  
"No," corrected a man in red armor, "stupid you and Illness, not able   
to beat a couple of teen brats."  
Sneering, the black-haired woman stuck out her tongue.  
Doubt rolled her eyes at this. "You children, must I always remind you  
of your place?"  
"What place?" Illness asked sarcastically, opening one of his brown   
eyes. "The place behind you?"  
"I never said that," Doubt smirked, her white hair shimmering in the   
waning candlelight.  
Looking at the woman in gray, Death wrapped an arm around Greed.   
"Don't listen to her, dear. Doubt is just..."  
A flash of silver light flared up in the middle of room, and the King  
of the Raiders appeared with a scowl on his dark face.  
"Neo-Sailor Moon has the Galactic Rod." His voice was grave and low.   
Violence sneered. "I still say that the Galactic Rod is a legend."  
"And so is Sailor Moon, I suppose," retorted Death, tightening his   
grip on Greed. "And the Silver Crystal, and the Moon Kingdom..."  
"DO YOU FORGET WHERE YOU ARE?" roared the King suddenly, his dark   
crimson hair becoming ruffled by his sheer anger. "This is not the home   
galaxy, where you five can fight like the toddlers that you are. This is the  
Milky Way, where the Sailor Scouts live."  
Greed pouted a bit. "Your Majesty, we're trying..."  
"Trying?" His voice was soft and kind. Walking up to Greed, he traced   
her jaw line with his index finger. "It's so relieving to know that you're   
'trying'..."  
Grinning, she nestled closer to Death. "Thank..."  
"BUT TRYING ISN'T GOOD ENOUGH!" He yelled, staring into her green eyes  
and glaring at her. "YOU HAVE TO SUCCEED!"  
With another flash of light, he was gone.  
Slipping out of Death's grasp, Greed let out a strangled sob and ran   
from the room.  
"Are you going to chase her?" asked Doubt mockingly.  
Smoothing his black shirt, Death slowing shook his head. "Not until I   
give you three a mouthful, I'm not."  
************  
  
"It's a coma, Raye." The young doctor slipped her hands back into her   
white lab coat. Her face was pale and grim. It was obvious that she hadn't   
slept much lately. "I wish that you'd..."  
"No." The Priestess shook her head and stared at Chad. "I will not   
send him to a hospital, Amy. Never."  
Looking sadly at her childhood friend, Amy sighed. "Raye, think of   
him. It would save his life...it would increase his chance to live..."  
"No." Kneeling on the floor, she closed her deeply purple eyes. "I   
will do no such thing."  
For the first time, Amy became aware of another presence in the room.  
Tara had sat silently in the corner, thinking. Her green eyes were   
blood shot; her cheeks were tear-stained. Short on sleep and on patience,   
she watched the goings-on with a mute interest. But, when Raye said her   
second 'no', Tara took in a sharp breath.  
"Mother..." she said gently, shaking a bit. "Perhaps you should listen  
to the Mistress of Mercury. It's possible..."  
"Do you argue with me?" Standing in a single, graceful movement, Raye   
lowered her beautiful eyes at her daughter. "You mean to tell me I'm wrong?"  
Tara shook her head slowly, adverting her eyes.  
"I'll tell you what's wrong," the Mistress of Mars continued, voice   
wavering. "It's wrong that my daughter and childhood friend both want to go   
against my wishes." She stormed towards the door then, as though it was an   
afterthought, she whirled around.  
"And..." Her voice was bitter and condescending. "It's wrong for   
either of you to ask my husband-your father, Tara-to die in a room full of   
machines and tubes. If he dies..." A tear rolled down her cheek and she   
hastily wiped it away. "If he dies, he dies here."  
And she was gone.  
There was a heavy silence following Raye's leaving. Both Tara and Amy   
just stared at Chad.  
"Amy..." Tara bit her lower lip and let out a long sigh. "I just...I   
just think you're right." She looked down at the floor and then up at the   
blue haired woman.   
Considering this, Amy put her hand on the girl's shoulder. "Tara, know  
this... I love your mother and father very much. Both of them... Well, we've  
been friends as long as I can remember." A tear ran down her face, but she   
smiled in spite of it. "And, I love you by... by default, if you will..."   
She pulled her hand away from the young girl's shoulder.   
"Why?" Tara asked softly, her voice nearly a whisper. "How could you   
love a little thirteen-year-old girl like me?"  
Amy laughed in spite of Tara's grave tone. "You're no little thirteen-  
year-old to me. You're the Sailor of Earth, and someday, you'll be the   
Mistress of Earth."  
"I know," Tara said, her voice gaining strength.  
Amy let another tear roll down her cheek. "Hope, Tara. Hope is all you  
need. Don't you give up, because things look darkest when you give up."  
Nodding at her friend's mother, Tara began to cry a bit. "Goodbye,   
Mistress of Mercury."  
"Amy," said the doctor, walking out the door. "My name is Amy."  
Tara smiled. "Amy..."  
And then, she began to cry.  
************  
  
Sitting straight up in bed, Death shivered a bit. His dream had been   
so real... so vivid. He could almost taste it.  
Looking over at Greed, who was balled up in the sheets and sleeping   
peacefully, he sighed slowly. "Why is it like this?" he murmured to himself.  
"I just hope my dream isn't premonition." He touched the top of Greed's head  
lightly and stroked her long, black hair. "I don't want to lose her."  
The young woman stirred and looked up at Death with her emerald eyes.   
"Well, hello," she yawned, taking his hand in hers. "Is it morning already?"  
He shook his head slowly and kissed the top of her head. "I had a   
dream."  
Sitting up, her eyes grew wide. "Again?" she asked, amazed. "What   
happened this time?"  
He shook his head slowly. "I'd rather not concern you."  
"I'm already concerned!" she yelped, clutching his hand harder. "I'm   
terrified! You remember what the last one was about..."  
Visions of her dying flashed back into his head. It seemed as though   
each dream he had involved her death...except that one...  
"Promise me something," he said seriously, staring at her. "Swear to   
me that you'll let Illness take charge."  
"WHAT?" she asked, blinking. "I'm his superior officer! Why should I   
let him..." Looking into Death's black eyes, she swallowed hard.   
He stared at her. "If you don't let him intervene, you will die in a   
battle with the Scouts." A tear ran down Death's cheek. "And I can't let   
that happen."  
Leaning against his chest, Greed bit her lip to keep from crying.   
"Oh...oh, my..." she murmured, letting a tear escape her eye. "Oh my..."  
************  
  
Depositing her purse and keycard on the coffee table, Alice Kino   
grinned. It was Friday... No school until Monday...  
"Mom! I'm home!" she announced, ducking into the kitchen. Grabbing a   
Sprite out of the fridge, she glanced around. Spotless. "Hmm..." she   
murmured to herself. Shrugging, she walked into the living room and plopped   
down on the couch. "Funniest thing happened in sewing class today," she   
continued, turning on an old rerun of Pokemon. "I was at this one machine   
and..." Stopping, she turned away from the TV. "Mom?" she called.  
Standing, Alice made her way to her mother's bedroom. "Earth to   
Mom...come in, Mom." Opening the door, she let out a sound that was half-  
gasp and half-sigh. "Mom?"  
The room was empty. No Lita.  
Alice walked expectantly to the answering machine and glanced down at   
it with a sigh. The blinking red light shone in the still-dark room like an   
eye, shutting and opening at speeds that no one could ever measure.  
Hitting the button, Alice feared the worst.  
And received it.  
"Hey Alice, my light," came Lita's always cheery voice. "I have to   
work real late tonight-I'll be home around eleven. Why don't you call the   
Scouts and invite them out for dinner? There's money on the kitchen counter.  
Don't ever say I don't love you!" A chuckle came through on the machine.   
"Well, nonetheless, I'll see you! Bye!" A click sounded on the machine, and   
the little red light died after such a short life span.   
Sighing, the auburn-haired girl bit her lip and flipped through the   
phone book. "Hm...now, what name is Haley's number under? Ten'ou? Possible."  
She flipped a few pages and smiled in success. "Ten'ou Alexandra, Michelle,   
Hannah, and Haley. Bingo." She picked up the phone. "I think I'm in the mood  
for pizza..."  
************  
  
"Pizza?" Haley grinned and looked into the mirror on the wall. "I love  
it! I don't have any plans... Ooh! You're going to call Lyra and Phoebe,   
too? Neat! I love it!" Nodding, she looked at Hannah and smirked. "Yep, I'll  
pick you guys up. Eight? Okay. See you..." Hanging up, she turned her   
attention to the black haired woman. "Hey, Hannah, guess who has a social   
life!"  
Hannah rolled her purple eyes, but didn't look up from her book. "Hey,  
Haley," she retorted calmly, "guess what annoying little sister is going to   
get a Silence Glaive shoved up her ass if she's not careful?"   
The brown haired teen stuck out her tongue. "Your just jealous."  
Looking at her sister, Hannah considered this. "I don't think," she   
said calmly, "that I could be jealous of your stupid friends..." She bit her  
lip and shook her head. "Wait, I could be jealous. I take that back."  
Haley grinned in success.  
"If one of them stole my boyfriend, that is," she continued, turning   
back to her book. "Now, if you'll excuse me..."  
Grimacing, Haley prepared to beat Hannah senseless. She wasn't in much  
of a mood for stupid games. "Listen, you daughter of a bimbo..."  
"Haley Jordan Ten'ou!" came a very strong voice from the doorway.   
Whirling around, Haley groaned loudly. "Hi Mom," she said, facing   
Michelle with a sigh. "What did I do now?"  
Hannah smirked, stood, and left the room.   
"You are not to speak to your sister like that," Michelle scolded,   
placing her leather backpack on the floor. "I expect to come home from work   
to a home, not a zoo."  
"But Mom!" protested Haley, teal eyes pleading. "She started it!"  
Shaking her head, the middle aged woman walked into the kitchen, her   
daughter on her heels. "Why do I not believe that, Haley?"  
"Cause I start all the fights, and I always provoke her..." Sipping a   
half-drunken Coke, the teen sighed. "But why is that important? Shouldn't   
you love us for our separate and adorable quirks?"  
"I do!" Wrapping her arms around the girl, Michelle grinned widely.   
"But..."  
"But?"  
"But annoying your adult sister is NOT a quirk!" Kissing the top of   
her head, Michelle sat down. "It's mean!"  
Haley sneered, but gave up and plopped into a kitchen chair. "OH!" she  
suddenly said with a gasp. "I forgot! I'm going to Pizza Hut with the girls   
tonight!"  
"The girls?" her mother asked, glancing up from her cup of tea. "You   
mean the Sailors?"  
"Yep," agreed Haley with a grin. "Alice's mom isn't around tonight,   
and you know how that girl is..."  
"No, I don't." Her voice was kind, not condescending. "How IS that   
girl?"  
"Lonely," responded the teen, running a hand through her short brown   
hair. "It's just her and Mistress Jupiter, so..."  
"I understand." Michelle continued her reading. "Go on..."  
"Well, we're going out to dinner." Taking another swig of the cola,   
she rose. "I'm picking them up in an hour, so I'd better get dressed..."  
"Wait." The adult green eyes were serious and stared at Haley with   
intensity. "May I talk with you?"  
The girl plopped back down in her chair. The air in the room seemed   
suddenly heavy, and Haley felt the hairs on the back of her neck rise.   
Though the kitchen was large and open, Michelle's tone made it feel   
very...cramped. "What?"  
"Susan had a premonition yesterday," she began, fingering an aqua-  
colored strand of hair. "In it, one of us was greeted by a new man in our   
lives."  
"A man?" she asked, wide-eyed. "But..."  
"I have Alexandra," the woman responded, smiling to herself. "And   
Hannah is dating that guy, and Alexandra most definitely has me..."   
"Me or Susan?" Her teal eye grew extremely wide. "Man-eater Susan?"  
"Or you," Michelle reminded her solemnly. "It could be you..."  
Haley raised her eyebrows, considering this. It was a   
little...scary...and definitely a foreign experience to her. A guy? She   
liked guys, of course, but she had never met one that struck her fancy... A   
boyfriend? Her heart was racing from the mere thought of it.  
Hearing footfalls on the linoleum brought Haley back to the real   
world. Looking across the kitchen, she saw Hannah standing in front of the   
microwave, leafing through the junk in a drawer.  
Glancing at her sister, Haley suddenly saw something she...just hadn't  
seen before. The young woman was wearing a long, spaghetti-strapped dress   
that was the most beautiful color of purple. The trim was black velvet, and   
it sparkled ever-so-slightly. Straight, thick black hair hung down a little   
past her shoulders, and her light purple eyes were accentuated by a pair of   
black-rimmed glasses.  
Haley smiled. Maybe she was cranky old Hannah...but she WAS gorgeous.  
"Where are you going dressed like that?" asked Michelle, staring.   
Hannah laughed, but didn't look up from the drawer. "I have the   
university ball tonight with Brian... Don't you remember?"  
Raising a teal eyebrow, she glanced at her child again. "I don't   
remember approving of this."  
"You did," Hannah assured her with a sly grin. "Ah-ha!"  
It was Haley's turn to be puzzled. "What?"  
Tossing her sister a vial, Hannah smiled. "Our Mace sprays, Sis.   
Remember?"  
"Last year's Christmas presents," Haley responded, glaring lovingly at  
her mother. "Can I go get ready?"  
"Yes..." Michelle sighed in defeat.  
As she left, the teen stared at her older sister. "Oh, and Hannah...   
You look great. Brian will have a heart attack just seeing you." She was   
gone.  
Hannah blushed, a bit embarrassed, and stuffed the Mace spray in her   
purse. Sitting down in the chair slowly, she bit her lip. "I heard your   
conversation, and I think you're wrong," she said thoughtfully, staring at   
her mother.   
Michelle's eyes widened. "Really, Hannah?"   
Hannah knew that, as the Mistress of Saturn, her thoughts would be   
easily heard. It wasn't every day that the most powerful of Mistresses could  
disprove the ruling of Sailor Pluto.  
"Mother... I think that Susan is the one who is going to end up with a  
boyfriend..."  
************  
  
"Susan? Why Susan?" Neo-Queen Serenity stared at her husband from   
across the large mahogany desk.   
Endymion rested his elbows on the desk and stared into her eyes. The   
eyes had always been the color of the ocean, but, when she was about to   
start an argument, they would suddenly be fused with the most alluring   
silver sparks.  
The sparks were there by the millions, it seemed.  
"You do not quite...understand...Terrence."  
"It's odd enough that you have a brother," the Queen retorted, staring  
at the snapshot that she had been handed. "But to expose him to the Guardian  
of Time? That leans to the side of ludicrous, my love."  
Considering this, he stared at her. "I have reason."  
"What would that be?" Her voice was thoughtful, but a tiny bit   
sarcastic.   
"All the others are married." Endymion looked at the ceiling with   
care.   
"Married?" asked the Queen, raising an eyebrow. "What do their   
marriages have to do with anything?"  
"You do not understand Terrence. If you understood..." Shaking his   
head, he sighed.  
Serenity considered this, and ran her fingers through a long pigtail.   
"Well, what about Michelle and Alexandra? Or little Hannah? Surely, they   
could..."  
"Michelle and Alexandra are...involved with one another." Endymion   
felt himself grow wary because his beautiful wife was missing his point   
entirely. "And Hannah's dating a young man..."  
"Named Brian from the university. I know," Serenity interrupted with   
audible annoyance in her voice. "But, WHY must we pair your brother up with   
the only unmarried Mistress?"  
"Let's just say that..." Biting his lip, he searched for the right   
words. "Terrence is... He'd make all the husbands, boyfriends, and lovers   
very..."  
"He's seductive?" supplied the Queen, eyes wide. "He's lonely? A   
flirt? Attractive? Alluring?"   
Blushing, the King of the Earth focused his attention to the skylight.  
"Terrence falls under the unique category of... Well..."  
"I do not have time for your games, Endymion," she scolded, staring at  
him. "Just tell me."  
"All of the above."   
Laughing aloud, the Queen stared at her husband. "You're serious?"   
Seeing his stone face, she stopped laughing. "Oh, dear..."  
"Terrence could use a woman like Susan in his life." He focused all of  
his attention on convincing the Queen. "Someone who will slap him if   
provoked, yell at him when annoyed, and get in his face when it's needed."  
Serenity nodded, trying to understand. "So, you plan to play   
matchmaker with man-eater Susan and your 'all of the above' brother,   
Terrence?"  
"You hit the nail on the head, dearest." Endymion reached out and   
squeezed one of her hands with love. "What do you think, though?"  
"Honestly?" The Queen sat up in her chair and looked straight into his  
deep blue eyes. "Darien, I think you're the most wonderful man in the   
galaxy. I'll go along with all this because I care about you and I love you   
with all my heart and soul."  
"I love you too, Serena." He smiled at the use of their pet names.   
"But, beyond that," continued Serenity with a sly grin. "I think your   
plan is absolutely insane."  
************  
  
"Pizza? I'm absolutely starving!" Lyra grinned hugely and jumped up   
and down a bit. "Eight? Cool. Haley's driving? Neat! See you later!" She   
hung up the phone with a huge grin. "Ma?" she called from her place in her   
room. "MA?"  
Sliding down the banister in her school skirt, she ran into the   
kitchen at a record speed. "MA!!"  
Mina slammed the baby's spoon down on the kitchen table. "Lyra Star   
Mokoti!" she scolded, glaring at her eldest daughter. "How many times must I  
tell you not to scream from your room?"  
"Any number of times?" she tried with a sweet grin.   
"Wrong." Picking the spoon back up, she shoved mashed carrots into   
Lila's mouth. "I am sure your baby sister here has better manners."  
"Yes, Ma." Looking guiltily at the floor, the girl smiled shyly. "May   
I go to Pizza Hut with some of the Sailors tonight?"  
"You are to take Celeste and Becky to Sailor V tonight," her mother   
responded coolly, adjusting her red bow with a spare hand. "So, no you may   
not."  
"Ma!" she pressed, annoyed. "Becky already saw Sailor V...twice!"  
"And Celeste?" Mina asked, lightly blue eyes surveying her child.   
"What about her?"  
Lyra bit her lip, considering her view options. She could always stay   
home and read... Or she could just lock Celeste in her bedroom...  
"Take her with," suggested a strong but gentle voice from behind her.   
"Celeste loves pizza, and you'd have a lot of fun with her."  
Lyra smiled and turned to face her father. "Great idea, Daddy!" she   
grinned, hugging him with love. "I think I'll do just that!"  
"How will the Scouts react, Andrew?" Mina asked, staring at her   
husband. "I'm sure they won't be happy with a six-year-old tagging along."  
"It'll be a lot of fun for us!" She ran a hand through her corkscrew   
hair. "And, besides, we can always come home later."  
"Come home? You actually would?" laughed Andrew, dislodging himself   
from his daughter's grip. "You'd enjoy that?"  
"Why not?" Lyra grinned. "Ma?" Her light brown eyes stared at her   
loving mother. "Please?"  
"Go... Have fun..." Sighing in defeat, Mina turned back to the baby   
with a slight smile. "Just don't get into trouble."  
"THANK YOU!" Giggling, Lyra dashed off to her room.  
Rolling her own eyes at Andrew, Mina sneered. "I don't like this,   
dear..."  
He wrapped her arms around her shoulders. "I know you don't... but   
you'll understand eventually." He smiled knowingly. "I love you."  
"Now what do YOU want?" she joked, staring up at him.  
************  
  
Greed was nearly asleep in his arms when she began talking.  
"I need you to swear something to me, Death..." she murmured, staring   
into his black eyes. "I love you, and this is important to me."  
He nodded knowingly and smoothed her now messy black hair. "Anything   
for you, love..."  
"Anything?" she asked doubtfully, snuggling closer.  
"Anything."  
"If I ever die, Death," she carefully said, a tear in her eye, "I want  
you to go on. I want to know that you will never give up."  
"What a question!" he exclaimed in a soft tone. "I could never live on  
with my one true love gone..." He kissed the top of her head. "Now, go to   
sleep."  
She lowered her green eyes at him. "Promise me right now, Death, or I   
will get up and leave you."  
"Alright, I swear it."  
"AND MEAN IT!"  
"I mean it!"  
"Okay..." Greed kissed his chin lightly and nestled close to him.   
There was a pause before either spoke again.  
"I know..." she yawned, interrupting her own train of thought. "I know  
how hard this must be for you..." Already half asleep, she closed her large,  
green eyes.  
Death shook his head. "No, Greed... You have no idea." Sighing, he too  
closed his eyes, and soon they were both asleep.  
***********  
  
"Hmmm... I'd really love to..." Closing her math book carefully,   
Phoebe sighed. "It sounds like fun, but my parents aren't home, so..."   
Pulling the phone away from her ear, she rolled her icy blue eyes. "You   
don't have to yell at me, Alice," she responded with a half-sneer. "Come   
over after dinner for some nachos, okay?" She nodded and smiled as Alice   
babbled. "Good deal. See you then." She hung up the phone with a grin.  
Standing, she arched her back. Though only fifteen, Phoebe looked   
about eighteen years old. Her midnight blue hair was pulled into six thick   
braids, and her ice-blue eyes were lined with thick black eyelashes. Even   
her mother, who was often a bit pessimistic and bossy, would admit that her   
daughter was beautiful. Hands down.  
"I feel like dancing," she said aloud, smirking to herself. "Dance   
tryouts are in a few weeks, and I really want to make the team." Switching   
on her radio, she began to stretch slowly, limbering up for her favorite   
type of workout-modern dance.  
And that was when she heard it...  
"Sailor Phoenix..." The voice sounded almost like some sort of wind to  
her. "Sailor Phoenix..."  
Stopping in mid-stretch, the teen's eyes grew wide. "Huh?"  
With the possible exception of the radio, silence filled the bedroom.   
Hearing nothing, Phoebe shrugged and started her stretches again.  
"SAILOR PHOENIX!" came the voice, this time harsh and rude. "Let me in  
already! I'm freezing my ass off out here!"  
This made her stop. "Who's there?" she asked, glancing around.  
"If you don't let me in, I won't be here for long!" the voice screamed  
loudly.  
Walking out of her room and towards the front door, Phoebe continued   
to talk. "Who are you?"  
"I'm your Guardian! And if you don't open up, I'll freeze the death!"   
A sneeze echoed through the house. "Try explaining THAT to the Queen and   
Princess!"  
Shaking her head in disbelief, Phoebe opened the front door of the   
brown house.  
Nothing was there.  
"This isn't funny!" she yelled out to the pitch-black night. "Dad, if   
you're behind this..."  
"Hey, Phoenix," came the voice, incredibly close this time. "Do me a   
favor and look down."  
She did so and then proceeded to let out a gasp. Sitting at her feet   
was a tiny cat.  
The cat had orange fur on his back and white fur on his belly and   
paws. Where the orange and white met on his forehead was the most noticeable  
feature of the cat.  
A golden crescent moon.  
"What?" the cat asked, staring up at her with copper eyes. "Haven't   
you ever seen a guardian cat before?"  
Still staring, Phoebe swallowed and managed to grunt.  
Shaking his head, the cat started to walk into the kitchen with a   
sigh. "Close the door... It's cold out tonight. Then, we'll talk."  
She started to do so, and then stopped in mid-motion. "Wait!" she   
called to herself. "This is some sort of caffeine-induced fantasy! That's   
all..." She laughed nervously. "There is NOT a talking cat in my kitchen...   
I had too much coffee... Or maybe my stretching made all the blood rush to  
my head..." A large crash sounded in the kitchen. "Or not..." She dashed to   
the next room.  
The cat sat innocently on the counter while the entire drawer of   
silverware lay on the floor.  
"Oops?" he asked sweetly.  
Rolling her eyes, Phoebe knelt down and began picking up the mess.   
"Who the hell are you?" she asked angrily. "And why in the name of heaven   
did you burst into MY house, knock over MY silverware, and..."  
"My name is Orb," he interrupted. His tone was no longer joking, but   
serious and adult. "I am a Moon cat, just like Diana and her family."  
"A Moon cat..." she repeated looking up at him.  
Orb continued firmly. "I am the son of Luna and Artemis, the royal   
guardians of Earth. I am here to help my sister with your training."  
"Diana's brother?" Phoebe asked, eyes wide. She placed the drawer back  
in its proper place. "How did you manage to knock that thing onto the floor,  
anyway?"  
"Luck." Orb jumped off the counter and then stared at Phoebe. "I have   
to get to the Palace right away."  
"Oh, no!" she said, crossing her arms over her chest. "I'm not walking  
there-not in this weather."  
"You live three flipping blocks away!" he argued, annoyed. "You can   
take me to the Palace!"  
She shook her head. "If you're so anxious, walk," she retorted,   
staring at him. "I'm bigger than you, so what I say goes."  
"Fine!"  
"Fine!"  
There was a long silence. Neither cat nor girl looked at one another.  
"Phoebe..." Orb finally said, his voice cutting through the pause.   
"I'm...I'm hungry..."  
Grumbling, she got up and began to make him something to eat.  
************  
  
Peeking her head into Illness' large office, Greed smiled slyly. "Hey,  
Illness!"  
He looked up slowly at the young woman. Her hair was up in a ponytail,  
which was very different from her normally severe braid. "Enter..."  
She walked in, still with her ridiculous grin plastered on her face.   
She wore a long green skirt with a long slit on the left side, and her   
normally leather garb was replaced by a tight black tank top. "Want to go   
get some pizza?" she asked, sitting on the very edge of his desk.   
"Excuse me?" he asked, brown eyes wide.  
She rolled her eyes and continued. "Death has a meeting with Doubt,   
and I want to get some humanoid pizza!"  
"Humanoid pizza?" he repeated, placing his book on the desktop. "Why   
would you want to eat THAT?"  
"Fine," she snorted, rising. "If you don't want to join me, I'll just   
go by myself!"  
Sighing, he rose, staring at her. Greed WAS beautiful, and a just   
silly enough to strike his fancy. She could be conceded and rude... But she   
was really kind underneath. "I'm sorry, Greed," he said softly. "I'm come   
with you." Waving his hand, his robes turned into khakis and a brown polo   
shirt.  
"Really?" she cooed, grinning. "That's great! I hadn't heard your plan  
yet, you know."  
"My...plan?" he gasped, raising an eyebrow in response to her. "You   
want to hear it?"  
She looked surprised at that. "Of course!" was her grinning response.   
"Shall we go?"  
"Where to?" he asked, still surprised by her behavior.   
Thoughtfully, she bit her lip. "I was thinking of this place called   
Pizza Hut..."  
************  
  
"Celeste..." Lyra groaned. "Come on..."  
The little blonde girl turned up her nose. "No way! I want to play   
Sailor V!"   
Rolling her eyes, the older girl rose and looked at her two friends.  
Haley, ever the tomboy in her silver tank top and blue jeans, was   
shaking her head slowly. "Can't you get her to come?" she asked with   
annoyance in her voice.  
The other girl, dressed in a conservative blue sweater and a long   
black skirt, stared. "Lyra?" Alice asked, raising a long eyebrow.   
Celeste yelped aloud. "I want to play Sailor V!" she screamed at the   
top of her little lungs. "I want to play Sailor V!"  
Just then, a young man came up and smiled at the three teens. "Need a   
hand?"   
Lyra stared at him and got a strange deja-vu feeling in the pit of her  
stomach.   
He was probably about six feet tall and had extremely dark red hair   
that was accented with the most graceful waves. His royal-blue eyes were   
rimmed by silver glasses, and everything about him seemed...perfect? That   
word fit the young man perfectly.  
"I don't think you could handle THAT rugrat," Haley said in a tired   
tone. "She's practically evil..."  
Smiling, he stooped down and looked into Celeste's vividly green eyes.  
"Hey, cutie. What's your name?"  
She stared at him for a minute, and then some type of trust dawned on   
her face. "I'm Celeste. Who are you?"  
Lyra blushed and bit her lip. "Sorry, sir... She doesn't know   
better..."  
"It's okay," he returned, still focusing on the little girl. "My name   
is Richard Umino."  
Richard... Lyra sighed wistfully at his name, staring down at him.   
Noticing her behavior, Haley laughed a bit.  
"Come on, Lyra," she whispered, stifling a giggle. "Someone that cute   
is BOUND to have a girlfriend."  
Brown eyes grew wide. "You can see through me that easily?"  
"Of course," Haley retorted, leaning against a wall. "After all, we're  
Scouts. That kind of makes us sisters."  
Meanwhile, Richard held out his hand to the young girl. "Will you come  
with me?"  
"I don't want to eat with Lyra." Celeste's young voice was a bit sad.   
"She and her big kid friends will just ignore me."  
"Well, I'm all by myself. How about I eat with-Lyra, was it?-and her   
friends?" Richard smiled charmingly at the little girl. "Is that okay?"  
She winked. "Yep!" Taking his hand, she allowed herself to be lead   
back to the group of older girls.  
"...Come ON, Lyra," Alice was whining as they approached. "Haven't you  
ever tasted the Feta Cheese and Spinach Deluxe?"  
"It's to DIE for," agreed Haley with a grin. "No meat, either, so it   
keeps you fit and strong."  
Lyra wrinkled her nose. "Gag me. Give me old-fashioned pepperoni any   
day."  
"Ditto," he spoke up, standing right behind Lyra. "Pepperoni pizza is   
by far the greatest thing."  
Her eyes widened as she heard his voice. Richard was surely the nicest  
guy... But Lyra knew her mother, Mina-The-Warden, would never let her date.  
"By the way," she said, turning around and looking at him. "My name is  
Lyra Mokoti."  
Mokoti? Why was that name familiar?  
The one in jeans smirked. "They call me Haley Ten'ou."  
Richard bit his lip. Ten'ou? Where had he heard that name before?  
"And I," chimed in the auburn-haired girl, "am none other than Alice   
Kino."  
Kino? That name was familiar too...  
Lyra smiled and played with a strand of blonde hair. "Thank you so   
much for getting my sister to listen! I owe you something..."  
"How about dinner?" he asked, hoisting the littler girl onto his   
shoulders.  
She blinked. Once. Twice. Dinner?  
Richard, seeing Lyra's reaction, laughed. "I didn't mean it like you   
think," he said reassuringly, looking down at her. "Celeste wouldn't leave   
that machine unless I agreed to eat with you guys."  
"Oh..." sighed Lyra with a disappointed grin. "Well, then, sure!"  
"Great!" Richard responded with a smile. Something about the girls   
nagged him... But what was it?  
Shrugging his suspicion off, he followed them to the table.  
************  
  
"There's so much I wanted to tell you... So many things that I wanted   
our family to do and to BE..." Sighing, the Mistress of Mars wiped a tear   
from her cheek. "But, no more. I do this for you...because...I don't want   
to...to..." Unable to finish the sentence, she raised her locket slowly.   
"Mother!" Tara cried, running into the room. She had been watching her  
mother's actions for the last few moments, and was shocked by the act she   
was about to make. Maybe this was the only way... "Mother, don't!"  
Raye gasped and turned to look at her daughter. The girl was extremely  
tall and thin, and her green eyes were slanted ever-so-slightly as part of   
her Shinto heritage. Pitch black hair hung well past her slender waist, and   
most notably, a green and tan locket hung about her neck. She was Tara   
Yuuichirou, thirteen-year-old Shinto Priestess who loved nature, hated bees,  
and would protect the Cherry Hill Temple with her life if necessary. But   
then, if she stepped into the light at the right angle, she was that   
defender of love and justice, Sailor Earth.   
"Yes, Tara?" she asked softly, clutching the Mars locket closer to her  
body.   
"Mother, I don't believe what you were about to do!" she scolded,   
kneeling next to her mother with a deep sigh. "What would Father say?"  
The High Priestess sighed. "He'd be alive and I would be dead. It   
wouldn't matter..." A tear rolled down her cheek, and she wiped it away   
quickly.   
Tara took her mother's hand in her own. It was cold and shaking...   
Raye was shaking.  
"Father has always said to live for the moment," she sighed, staring   
at her father. "And I'm sure he'd say it now."  
Gulping, Raye bit her bottom lip. "But I can't bear to live if   
he...if..." she started crying, this time not hiding it back.  
A silence filled the room as Tara stared at her mother. She had never   
before seen Raye so upset or sick about something... Her robes were wrinkled  
and dirty, her hair was tangled, and there were black bags under her eyes.   
The timeless maiden was turning into a sickly old woman before her   
daughter's very eyes.  
"I can't let you do such a thing, Mother," Tara told her, a tear   
running down her own face. "I need you more than ever, now. You're a Sailor,  
too... Or, you were." She hugged her mother and stared into the purple eyes.  
"I love you...and I love him. But I don't want to lose you if it's his time   
to go..." Tara began to cry.  
And Raye, taking her child into her arms, cried with her.  
************  
  
Greed and Illness sat in a booth, talking about their plans for Galaxy  
domination.  
"So, I think that the Observatory would be a great place to attack."   
Illness turned the map towards her.   
Rolling a strand of dark hair between two fingers, Greed studied the   
Crystal Star Observatory. "Hmm... Central location, large area, strong   
building..." She nodded and smiled at Illness. "I like it!"  
He smiled and took a bite of his vegetarian pizza. "I'm glad." Then,   
he sneered. "Listen to that bunch of kids."  
The table next to the little booth had three teen girls, a young girl,  
and a young man sitting at it. Laughing loudly, the man took a bite of his   
pizza.  
"I couldn't believe it the first time I meet the Princess, myself!" he  
chortled. "She was just SO scatter-brained..."  
A girl with dark blonde hair laughed. "I know! And she has the unique   
habit of talking in riddles..."  
"Constantly!" agreed a girl with very short brown hair.  
Greed grimaced. All that noise was giving her a bad headache. "SHUT   
UP!" she yelled at the girls, glaring in their direction. "You're a in   
public place! You don't laugh so loudly in a public place!"  
The three girls looked at one another and then all blushed deeply.   
"Sorry..." murmured the one with the auburn hair.  
Sneering, Greed turned back to her pizza...  
And was promptly hit in the head with a meatball.  
Turning very slowly towards the group of girls, she gritted her teeth.  
"The source of that wad of beef better not have been from where I think it   
is..."  
The littlest girl at the table was now in the lap of the man, who was   
trying his hardest not to laugh.  
"I'm so sorry, Miss..." The short girl with the blonde curls stood up.  
"She's only six; she doesn't know..."  
"OUT!" Greed stood, knocking her cup of coffee over. "EVERYONE OUT!"  
While people ran from the restaurant, Illness grabbed her thin wrist.   
"Greed..." he warned, brown eyes staring up at her.  
She glanced down at him, shrugged, and looked to the group of girls.   
All four girls and their male friend were still at the table, afraid of what  
was going to happen.   
Greed transformed into her normal clothing. "The rugrat and Blondie   
stay." Her voice was icy and evil. "The rest of you-out."  
************  
  
"Susan, relax."  
The green haired woman looked at the Queen of the Earth. Serenity, of   
course, was sitting straight up on the teal-colored sofa, one hand around   
her teacup and the other hand tight in Endymion's. Her face was placid-  
perfect, even-as it had been since her birth.  
"Easy for you to say," muttered the Guardian of Time with sarcasm in   
her voice. Glancing at Alexandra, she lowered her eyes. "And you-don't even   
say anything!"  
Alexandra opened her mouth in mock surprise. Sitting on the piano   
bench, she batted her eyelashes sweetly. "Me?" she asked with mock   
innocence. "Why me?"  
Rolling her eyes, Susan turned back to the King and Queen of Earth   
before plopping down in a chair. She'd forgotten who long it had been since   
the last time she wore human shoes... Her feet felt like they were on fire.  
"Now, Susan," Endymion said, his blue eyes staring into her scarlet   
ones, "you know that your duties to us are not just to protect Crystal   
Tokyo."  
Serenity nodded, a hopeful look lighting up her face. "Yes! And this   
IS for the common good."  
Alexandra chuckled from her seat.  
Lowering her eyes, Susan glanced to her friend. "Go to Hell." Turning   
back to the royalty before her, she sighed. "How does this help the common   
good, my Queen?"  
"Uh..." Serenity stared at the ceiling, a blank look on her face.   
"Well..."  
Endymion cleared his throat. "Terrence is part of the royal family,   
Susan, and it is your duty as a Sailor Soldier to help the royal family when  
they are in need."  
"And he NEEDS someone to show him Tokyo!" announced Serenity, a   
delighted smile crossing her face.  
This set Alexandra off. Laughing hysterically, she rolled off of the   
piano bench. "That is the STUPIDEST thing I have ever heard!" she giggled,   
clutching her side. "You are all really too much!"  
Michelle entered the living room and bent over, talking to Alexandra   
in a hushed tone. Making a face, the blonde stood, brushed her clothing off,  
and sat back on the bench, her aqua-haired 'wife' joining her. "I'm sorry,   
Susan." Michelle blushed.   
Beginning again, the Queen sat up tall and took a long sip of her tea.  
"Please, Susan," the Queen cooed, staring at her friend. "We've known each   
other for a very long time. Will you not help?"  
Bristling, Susan rose and stood across the coffee table from Serenity.  
Lowering her eyes for a moment, she took in a sharp breath. "Serenity..."  
"Maybe you should listen to her." Michelle's high voice was loving and  
sweet, but had a firm quality to it. "The Queen and King would do anything   
for us. Perhaps we need to return her favor..." Trailing off, she focused   
her green eyes on Susan's garnet eyes, hardly breathing.  
Playing with the silver band on her finger, Susan sighed. "Queen   
Serenity," she said, her voice gaining the timeless tone that only Sailor   
Pluto had. "I have saved your butt time and again. I have battled evil,   
protected Reeny, sent you back and forth from past to future, controlled   
Talismen, and nearly stopped time for you. For my love of you, and Endymion,  
and of the world." She paused, looking to both King and Queen, and then to   
the women she would almost call her sisters. "And I will show Terrence   
around for you, too."  
Serenity grinned and started speaking, only to have the Guardian of   
Time hold up a firm hand.  
"I'm not doing this for companionship," Susan said quickly.  
Smirking, Alex giggled. "Hey... That explains it. Michi, would you   
like a three..." Being elbowed firmly in the stomach, the blonde shut up.  
Sighing, Susan shook her head. "I am doing this for you." Smoothing   
her long scarlet skirt, Pluto headed for the stairs. "If anyone wants me,   
I'll be in my room..."  
Michelle smiled at the King and Queen. "I don't know what your motive   
was, but I'm glad you convinced her." Blushing, she rested her elbows on her  
knees. "I've really missed Susan."  
Endymion rose. "I'm glad that we've pleased more people than   
ourselves." He and his beautiful wife started for the door. "Thank her for   
us, will you?"  
"Of course..." smirked Alexandra, rising with them. "We might hassle   
her first about all this, though."  
Serenity glanced disdainfully at the woman. "Mistress Uranus," she   
scolded. "You'll do know such thing."  
"Not while I'm within earshot, she won't," Michelle agreed, catching   
the Queen's gaze.   
"I'm glad," smiled Serenity. "Goodbye Uranus... Neptune."  
Once the King and Queen left, Alexandra collapsed onto the couch.   
"It's just you, me, and Susan."  
Michelle smiled and joined her lover on the couch. "And Susan is much   
too busy pouting to think of us..."  
"Are you really that glad to see her, Michi?" Alex asked, smoothing   
the aqua hair that hung near her face.  
Michelle smirked shyly and hugged the blonde. "What does it matter?   
She's our friend." Michelle kissed Alex lightly on the cheek. "And it seems   
to me that she's here to stay."  
************  
  
Pacing nervously, Alice stared at Haley. "Are you going to sit there and do nothing?" she asked, staring across the women's washroom and at her friend.   
Haley bit a fingernail idly and repositioned the way she was sitting on the sink. "What do you want me to do? Rush out there, transform for Greed's viewing pleasure, and then get myself beaten to a bloody pulp? I think not!" She looked up and into the chocolate eyes of the girl that was Sailor Aurora Borealis. "You're to impulsive for your own good."  
Raising an eyebrow, Alice looked to her. "I don't know what you mean, and I don't care. Our friend is out there."  
"I love her as much as you do," Haley said solemnly. "But I don't see how we can fight them without the others."  
Pulling her brooch from her skirt pocket, she sighed and glanced at it. "I wish that..." Gasping, enlightenment dawned on her face. "The lockets get warm!"  
"Excuse me?" asked Haley, raising her eyebrows. "They get warm?"  
Alice nodded, grinning. "When one of us transform, the rest of our lockets get warm. That's why we showed up at Crystal Academy when you and Pheebs got attacked!"  
Smiling slyly, Haley shrugged. "Then, I approve of fighting." Pulling her own locket from around her neck, she looked at Alice. "You're too impulsive, but you're also far too smart."  
"Thanks." Raising the Locket of Light, Alice cleared her throat. "Aurora Borealis Galactic Power... MAKE UP!"  
"Comet Galactic Power... MAKE UP!"  
************  
  
"So, Phoebe," Orb asked, eating a bologna sandwich with a grin on his white and orange face, "what are your parents like?"  
Looking up from her spinach salad with care, the blue-haired girl considered this. "My dad is a surgeon-world famous, too."   
"And your mom?" he asked, not knowing the dangerous territory he was stepping into.  
Phoebe sneered. "She's a cranky little bigot," she commented, staring at her dinner. "But, besides that, she runs all of Crystal Hospital."  
Orb smiled. "Mother always said that Amy Anderson would amount to something."  
"You knew my mom?" Phoebe dropped her fork in shock. "What was she like as a kid?"  
Orb shrugged. "I didn't know her, but Mother, Father, and Diana did. Very well, actually." He sighed a bit and looked into her blue eyes. "From what I've learned, your mother was always concerned about being the best at everything and never failing."  
"Never failing..." Phoebe sighed, sniffling a tiny bit. "But she doesn't understand that I am a normal kid and person. She expects me to be her and a Sailor. That's it."  
"Hard, isn't it?" Orb laid down on the cool surface. "Trying to be someone you're not..."  
"I am a teen girl!" she announced a bit loudly and in a dire British accent. "Hath I not teenage eyes? Burnt by the same fire, hugged by the same Greg, laughed at by the same Moon Princess and enlightened by the same books as my mother is. If you bite me, do I not yelp? If you cry on my shoulder, do I not sympathize? If you hand me a computer, do I not program it? And if you expect me to be Amy Anderson, do I not FAIL?"   
Rolling his copper eyes, Orb smirked, half amused and half annoyed. "Bravo, bravo. I'll call the Oscar Nomination Committee and get your name on the ballot. Meanwhile, I was trying to have serious conversation with you."  
Sticking out her tongue, Phoebe sat back down in her chair. "You're just jealous because I am a really good actress and you..." She stopped, digging suddenly into her pockets.  
"What?" he inquired, staring at her.   
Clasping something in her hand, Phoebe stared at the guardian cat. "My locket just got really warm..."  
"That means danger!" He sprang to his paws and stretched quickly. "If you transform, you'll be able to home in on the other Scouts."  
"Pizza Hut," she said, trying to take the disc off its chain. "They're at Pizza Hut."  
"Amazing!" Orb gasped, staring. "You're the first one I've heard of that can sense them prior to transforming."  
Rolling her eyes, she raised her locket. "That's because they told me where they'd be." She cracked her knuckles. "Phoenix Galactic Power... MAKE UP!"  
************  
  
Reeny wiped her brow in exhaustion and leaned the broom against the side of the temple. "Anything else, Tara?"  
Tara smiled. The entire ordeal with her father was eased dramatically by the Princess' unending help at the temple. Her meager and currently dim existence seemed to have one single light in it-the light shed by a pink-haired girl with pigtails. "I think we're pretty good to go." Looking at her watch, Tara gasped. "It's nine at night, Reeny! You've been here since noon!"  
"So?" the Princess winked. "Anything for a friend, Tara." She yawned a little. "I'm tired though," she finally admitted with a knowing grin.   
In a rare moment of caring, the dark-haired teen wrapped her arms around the Princess. "Thank you so much, Princess. I don't know what I'd do without you!"  
Rolling her eyes, Reeny hugged her friend back. "No Princess talk, Tara!"  
Sighing, she focused her green eyes down to her shorter but older friend. "Sorry, Reeny... I got caught up in the moment."  
Diana, from her seat on a rock, smiled. "You two..." she chided sweetly. "My mother would yell at you guys... I'm glad that you both have friends."  
The Shinto Priestess smiled a bit. "My mother would probably name twenty other chores waiting for me..." She stopped and felt for her locket. "Uh-oh..."  
Reeny searched her too-big temple robes for the Locket of the Moon. Gripping it, a realization came to her.  
"It's warm!" she exclaimed, surprised.  
"Not again..." groaned Tara, biting her lip.  
Diana jumped onto the ground and stood between the two. "Glad you're both excited about this, but come on! We've got evil to fight!"  
"Other Sailors to save!" chimed in Reeny.  
"And powers to use!" Tara smiled.  
"Ready?"  
"When you are!"  
Reeny held her golden locket high. "Moon Galactic Power... MAKE UP!"  
Tara followed suit. "Earth Galactic Power... MAKE UP!"  
************  
  
Both Lyra and Celeste huddled under a table, nervously awaiting their fate.  
Greed helped herself to another piece of pizza. "You guys can relax a bit. I'm not done with my dinner yet."  
"And after that?" the blonde teen trembled.  
Whipping her braid behind her, the Raider shrugged. "Then, you die."  
Gulping, Celeste reached out for her big sister's hand. "Lyra..." she whispered, squeezing the soft but sweaty hand. Biting her lower lip, she sighed. Better late then never. "Lyra, I have to tell you something."  
"Shhh..." Holding a finger to her lip, Lyra shook her head of curls. "I'll get us out of this; don't you bother yourself with worrying."  
Furiously shaking her head, Celeste stared at her elder sister. "That's not it, though. I want to tell you about..."  
Glaring at the two, Greed held a finger to her blood red lips. "Shush. I can't eat when you're loud." Taking a huge bite out of her slice, she looked down at them again. "Oh, and would you get up? I can't stand to see you two lay there like animals!"  
Grabbing the tiny hand of her sister, Lyra rose shakily. Her heart was pounding in complete fear, and she couldn't help but think that her death was near. It was a scary experience-so much danger, so little time...and no where to transform.  
Celeste looked at Greed and felt her knees grow week. She had never once been so scared in her entire life. "Lyra..." she hissed through clenched teeth. "Can I please tell you something?"  
Not looking away from her dinner, Greed shook her head. "I said shush. I mean it." She drank some coffee slowly. "Don't make me mad. You wouldn't like it."  
Illness took a bite of his pizza. "Who are you two, anyway?"  
Trembling, Lyra felt beneath her blouse. Her locket, of course, hung in its proper place. If only she could get out long enough to transform... And Celeste-sweet, naïve Celeste-was in more danger than she was. At least she was Sailor Polaris. At least she could fight back. Celeste? No defense. No hope...  
"Stop right there!" came a strong female voice.  
Another voice called out to the two Raiders. "Don't even think about hurting them!"  
Nearly choking on her pizza, Greed slammed her fist down on the table. "SHIT!" she yelled unceremoniously. "Why didn't we think of those Sailor brats?" Looking at Illness, who was still eating, she lowered her eyes. "Are you concerned?" she asked.  
He shrugged. "Not in the least."  
A brown haired girl in a gold and orange fuku appeared with her arms crossed over her chest. "I am the sporty Sailor Comet, and I will protect the world's dawn of life."  
Sporty? Lyra stifled a laugh, looking down at her sister. Little Celeste was amazed by Scout.   
"And I," said another Scout, this one with a lavender and dark blue outfit, "am the kindly Sailor Aurora Borealis. Holding to the movement of the stars, I protect those in need."  
Greed bristled. Pulling her long sword from its scabbard, she lowered her deep eyes. "Surrender now," she growled, voice low and evil, "or prepare to fight."  
Aurora Borealis and Comet looked at each other. "Uh..."   
Lyra rolled her brown eyes. Idiotic Scouts.  
"Celeste," she hissed, crouching down. "Go hide under a booth. Okay?"  
The little girl shook her head vehemently. "Not without you!"  
Kissing the top of the little one's head, Lyra let a tear roll down her cheek. "Trust me on this, 'Leste," she cooed, wiping the tear away. "I can take care of myself."  
Hugging her sister, Celeste grinned. "I sure hope so." She took off like a flash for the other side of the room.   
"Good luck guys," Lyra mouthed, winking at the two Scouts. "I'll be back."  
Raising her sword, Greed smirked. "Goodbye."  
"COMET CRATER CLOSE!" screamed Comet, willing the attack to work.  
Illness rolled his eyes and stuck out a hand. "Dark Rebuttal," he muttered.  
The attack was countered.  
Comet's mouth fell open. "What was that?"  
Shrugging, Aurora Borealis cracked her knuckles. "Aurora Borealis," she yelled, spinning in a circle. "SHINING!"  
Light began to shimmer down from the ceiling.  
Illness sighed. "When will you learn? Dark Rebuttal!"   
The light quickly faded.  
"Shit..." sighed Comet, pacing a bit. "We're screwed."  
Smoothing his brown robes, Illness pointed to the Scouts. "Sit."  
They both found themselves forced to sit on the floor.  
"What the heck?" asked Aurora, trying to stand with little success.  
Struggling with whatever was holding her down, Comet groaned. "Crap."  
"Leave them alone!" came two new voices.   
Greed rolled her eyes. "MORE Sailors?" Kicking a table, she clenched her fists. "How many do they need?"  
Sailors Polaris and Phoenix stood before them, standing back to back.  
Polaris smiled. "I won't let you hurt innocent teens and kids."  
"And I won't let you destroy Pizza Hut," Phoenix said. "Phoenix Heat..."  
"DON'T!" screamed both Comet and Aurora Borealis in unison.   
"FLASHING!"  
Illness shrugged. "Do it the hard way. Dark Rebuttal."  
The stream of fire and steam disappeared.  
Phoenix's mouth fell open. "WHAT WAS THAT?" she shrieked at Illness, her ice blue eyes glaring at him. "HOW COULD YOU STOP MY ATTACK?"  
"Shut up," Illness sighed, waving an arm.  
Her mouth kept moving, but no sound came out. Flailing her arms and jumping up and down, Phoenix tried to scream. Nothing.  
Polaris bristled. "Okay, let's try this again."  
"WAIT!" a male voice hollered.  
All four Scouts glanced upward, towards the top of the salad bar.  
There, in his purple cape and black tuxedo, stood the ever adult Starlit Prince.  
And, next to him and clutching onto his leg, was Sailor Chibi-Star. The littler Scout looked positively terrified; her large green eyes were bloodshot, her pale cheeks were stained with tears, and her blonde pigtails were messy.  
Sailor Polaris paled as a double dose of deja vu washed over her. Shakily, she swallowed. "Uh... Why should I wait?" she asked the young man cautiously.  
It wasn't the Starlit Prince but Chibi-Star who spoke up. Staring at the Sailor of the North Star, she stood a little taller. "Because he's going to Darkly Rebut you!"  
"Huh?" She raised a blonde eyebrow.  
The Starlit Prince shook his head. "You and someone else need to attack at the same time or..."  
"Well, duh!" commented Comet from her seat on the floor. "I could have told her that."  
Belting Comet on the head, Phoenix tried to talk again, but was unable to. Jumping up and down, she clutched her throat furiously.   
Polaris rolled her eyes, taking a mental inventory of the situation. Phoenix couldn't talk and, therefore, couldn't attack anyone; Comet and Aurora Borealis were stuck sitting on the floor, unable to do much more than talk. That left..."  
"Chibi-Star!" Polaris yelled. "Attack them with me!"  
"Not so fast!" retorted Greed, holding up her sword. "You're not getting past me that easily!"  
Lobbing a purple rose at the Raiderette, the Starlit Prince looked down at his little friend, Chibi-Star, and then to Polaris. "Now!"  
"Starry Sky..." began Polaris, raising a hand high.  
Chibi Star stood with both arms above her head. "Small Star..."  
"Smash!"  
"Shatter!"  
Both drew their hands away from their bodies and downward in a perfect synchronism.   
"Wow..." cooed Comet.  
Aurora just stared, wondering how Chibi-Star and Polaris could be so much alike.  
Pulling the rose out of the leather covering her stomach, Greed stared at the shimmering glass and rolling ball of stardust that was coming towards her and her companion, Illness.  
"We'll be back!" she growled, throwing the rose on the floor and disappearing.  
Illness snarled. "Make no doubt about that!"  
Attempting to stand, Aurora sighed in relief. Her legs finally obeyed and she rose. "Whew..."  
Phoenix cleared her throat in delight. "I CAN TALK!"  
This amused the Starlit Prince, and he laughed. "Glad to hear it. So long, Scouts."  
"Bye!" Chibi-Star chimed in, reattaching herself to his black pant leg.  
Polaris' brown eyes grew wide. "Wait! Aren't you going to tell me..."  
They were gone.  
"Who you are?" she finished, disappointment filling her young voice.  
A young male voice spoke up. "Don't fret, Polaris-a lot of things are yet to come. Maybe, someday, he'll tell you who he is!" The voice was chipper and understanding.  
Phoenix grinned and scooped up a small orange and white cat. "May I present..."  
"Orb, your newest Guardian Cat!" the cat chimed in, his crescent moon glinting in the light.  
Suddenly, the door burst open and Sailors Earth and Moon entered the restaurant. Sailor Moon held the Galactic Rod in a hand looked ready to kill someone.  
"Where are they?" she asked in a confused tone, spinning around to survey the entire room.   
"Gone, Reeny," responded Comet. "Lyra freaked them out."  
Wrinkling her nose, Moon pouted. "Aww, shucks..."  
Diana rolled her red eyes. "And I thought she was starting to be a real hero..." Glancing at Phoenix, she did a double take. "Orb?" Her eyebrows rose to astronomical heights.  
Winking a copper eye, Orb grinned. "Seems as though I'm back for a stay, Di," he sniggered.  
Diana sighed. "This is NOT my week," she muttered.  
************  
  
Sitting on the green sheets of her bed, Susan sighed deeply. Even her room at the house had become unfamiliar... She had spent too long at the Gates of Time. So long, in fact, she had forgotten the simple joys of life.   
Sipping her tea, Susan bit her lip, drawing a bit of blood. "Maybe my premonition was just calling me to come home. I've sure missed this place... I've even missed Alexandra!" Laughing at herself, she glanced into the mirror.  
She had grown a few inches since her days as an active Scout; her darkly hunter green hair had become more wavy, and nearly reached her ankles. Scarlet-framed glassed complemented her garnet eyes and sat low on her nose, giving her a dignified and adult look. But, in her opinion, she looked too severe and...too stern.  
Shaking loose the fat bun that held up half her hair, she smiled a bit. "I never thought I'd be back here... not after defeating Galaxia..." Smiling wider, she blinked back tears. "But, here I am."  
The door opened a bit, and Susan felt herself spin around in anticipation.  
"Aunt Suse!" shrieked Hannah, throwing herself into the tall woman's embrace. "I haven't seen you in what seems to be an eternity!"  
Susan laughed a bit and smoothed the girl's nearly purple hair. "I'm here now, aren't I?"  
Leaning her head on Susan's shoulder, Hannah smiled. "I guess you are, Suse..." Looking up with teary eyes, she swallowed to keep from crying. "I've been through a lot...And I'm so glad to finally see you..."  
"So am I," Susan muttered. "So am I..."  
************  
  
Orb and Diana sat at opposite ends of the Urawa's living room, glancing suspiciously at one another.   
"So, you and Orb are siblings?" asked Reeny, stuffing several chips in her mouth.  
Diana rolled her red eyes. "Sadly, yes."  
"You're just jealous because Mom likes me better!" Orb retorted, sticking out his pink tongue.  
"Am not!" the pink cat returned.  
"Are too!"  
"Am not!"  
It had been going on like that since the little orange and white cat had arrived. Even Lyra confessed that she and Becky, the sister directly younger than her, didn't fight as much as the two cats.  
"Yes, we are," Orb finally said in response to the Princess. "Diana is three years older than I."  
Diana wrinkled her nose. "Orb was spoiled rotten by Mom and Dad."  
"Was not!" Orb retorted.  
Rubbing her temples slowly, Haley sighed. "Cut it out, alright? I've had enough of your childish bickering."  
The blonde Scout shifted her weight. "You alright, Haley? You seem stressed out."  
"I don't know..." Haley sighed, blinking. "I feel like I'm going to pass out..."  
"Weird." Phoebe stood. "Want some aspirin?"  
Haley shook her head, breathing deeply. "Someone call my Mom and have her come get me and the car..."  
"I'm on it!" Alice jetted out of the room and towards the kitchen.  
Orb sighed. "Fight lag," he muttered.  
"Fight lag?" asked Diana, rolling her eyes. "Do you ALWAYS make things up, or just occasionally?"  
"I'm not making this up, you jerk!" he snapped, focusing his copper eyes on his older sister. "Stop nagging me and listen for a nanosecond..."  
"Would you be quiet?" Haley's bloodshot aqua eyes focused on the cat. "I feel so sick..."  
Phoebe helped her up slowly. "Celeste is asleep in my parent's room... I'll put you in there. Okay?"  
Haley could hardly manage to nod.  
"It's just fight lag," Reeny said quietly. "After battles that involve a lot of danger and being attacked, you get really tired."  
"How come only she felt it?" asked Lyra, listening with interest.  
Reeny shrugged. "I don't know... Maybe she finally gave up..."  
"She IS strong," Tara whispered from her seat by the window. "Very strong."  
"Like your father?" Alice entered the room and her dark eyes flew to the thin girl. "Strong like him?"  
Tara just managed to nod.  
Alice shrugged. "Hannah and Susan will be here in about ten minutes."  
"SUSAN?" Diana's eyes grew wide. "Why the hell is she here?"  
Looking up at the stars, Tara gulped. "I don't know for sure... But I can sense it..."  
The pink cat jumped off the table. "What is it?" she asked, staring at her charge.  
Green eyes focused on the furry cat. "Susan is here to fall in love," she said seriously.   
************  
  
Greed threw her sword against the wall. "I have never been so...nice...in my life!"  
Rolling his black eyes, Death sighed. "You're a great actress, dearest. Illness probably thinks you like him." He opened his arms to her.   
Sticking out her tongue, Greed snarled. "Will you shut up, already? I hope that I can be mean again...soon..." Looking at his open arms, she sighed and gave him a tight hug.  
"Don't you worry..." he breathed into her ear. "Soon enough you'll be able to be yourself..."  
Raising an eyebrow, she looked up. "What is that supposed to mean?"  
He swallowed. "I think...I think Illness is going to die."  
************  
  
Endymion paced back and forth, wringing his cape in his hands. He was nervous, and the look in his blue eyes sure showed it.  
From her seat behind the large desk, Serenity sighed and tried to distract her husband. "Calm down," she cooed, looking at him with noticeable concern. "You'll give yourself an ulcer, dear..."  
"But Susan is late!" Endymion yelped, glancing at his watch for the eightieth time.   
Serenity raised an eyebrow and idly adjusted her crown. "What is wrong with her being late?"  
He rolled his eyes. "She's the flipping Guardian of Time, Serenity! She shouldn't, therefore, be late!" He kicked a chair. "And Terrence is also late!"  
Shaking her head slowly, the Queen turned to her computer. "For the record, dear, Susan may be late because of the battle last night."  
"Battle?" asked Endymion, shocked. "What battle?"  
"The Sailor Scouts were in a battle yesterday." She shrugged and began typing on the computer. "Haley had her first fight lag."  
"Fight lag?" Luna inquired from her plush cat bed. "What in Heaven's name is fight lag?" She raised her head slowly and glanced at the Queen.  
Serenity cocked her head a bit. "You don't know about fight lag?" she asked carefully.  
"Obviously not!" Luna snapped back, annoyed. "What is it?"  
"When you get into a fight," came a familiarly timeless voice, "you happen to have a wave of nausea, depending on how hard you actually DID fight."  
Serenity smiled warmly. "How nice to see you, Susan."   
The Time Guardian swept a hair behind her shoulder. She was wearing a slightly tight black dress with crimson trim, and it just barely swept her ankles. Her glasses were actually on the top of her head instead of down on her nose, and two crimson earrings hung down from her ears. She looked beautiful, and Endymion found himself staring.  
"Uh... Hi, Susan..." he stammered, receiving a fierce glare from his young wife. "You look... Terrence will surely... Well, you know how we guys are... Uh..."  
Serenity rolled her eyes. "Susan, gorgeous outfit. Terrence will be amazed."  
"I really hope he retains his motor skills upon seeing me," Susan quipped, smiling her secretive smile. "Do you happen to know if Endymion's reaction runs in the family?"  
Chuckling a bit, the King bowed very nobly, smiling. "Is Haley alright?"  
Susan nodded, sitting carefully in an armchair. "She's never experienced fight lag..." Biting a crimson lip, Susan's expression turned thoughtful. "The strange part is that not one of the other five Galactic Sailors have gone through fight lag yet..."  
Shrugging yet remaining thoughtful, Serenity smiled a bit. "I'm sure there's a very logical reason..."  
"For what?" came a brand new and sarcastic voice.  
Three sets of eyes turned to the doorway, while Luna just sighed and laid her head on her paws.  
A young man stood in the door, his tan suit a bit messy but intact. His hair was mostly brown, but was highlighted with blonde. A pair of glasses sat on his nose, and a goatee covered part of his chin.  
Endymion swallowed. "Terrence?"  
The man smirked. "In the flesh, Endy." He made a face. "Endy... Ugh, what a name? What were Mom and Dad on when they named you?" Grinning wider, he bowed. "My King... My Queen..."  
Serenity chuckled. "I like him, Endymion," she cooed happily, standing slowly. "He had a good soul."  
Staring, Susan blinked. She had never seen a man so free-spirited and easygoing...especially not one who stood before the King and Queen of the Earth. Smirking a quirky half-smile, she bit her lip. He was also very attractive...  
"And who is this vixen?" Terrence joked, glancing slyly at Susan.  
Rising, Susan stood and bowed a bit. "Susan Meiou, the Guardian of Time," she responded, introducing herself.  
Terrence considered this. "I'm sure that you tell that to ALL the guys, Sets." He threw himself into a chair.  
"Excuse me?" she asked, taken aback. "What did you call me?"  
Serenity grimaced. Endymion swallowed, gritting his teeth. Luna sighed.  
"Here we go..." she muttered.  
"Sets," Terrence responded, opening his jacket and reaching into it. "I called you Sets."  
"Sets?" She raised an eyebrow.  
Pulling out a yellow rose, he held it out to her. "Setsuna 'Susan' Meiou," he responded lightly, smiling sweetly. "That's your full name."  
Turning her nose up at the flower, Susan rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest. "How the HELL am I supposed to show you around the city?" she asked rhetorically.   
He shrugged. "Not my problem, now is it?" Closing his hand around the rose, he smirked, and reopened his hand. The rose was gone.  
Both Susan and Serenity stared at him. "How'd you do that?" asked the Queen with wide eyes.  
Blinking and shaking her head, Susan wrinkled her nose. "Parlor tricks."  
Holding out his now-empty hand to the Time Guardian, his face turned serious. "Would you like to take me to the Observatory, Sets?"   
She bristled, staring at his hand. Never before had a man offered to hold her hand. Looking down at her own hand, she swallowed. Why was her heart all the way in her throat? And why was her stomach doing flip-flops? She couldn't figure any of it out.   
"Uh... Alright... Prince Terrence..." she stammered, taking hold of his hand.  
Terrence winked a green eye at Endymion before looking back at Susan. "And, Sets, none of this 'Prince' stuff... I'm no Prince..." He pulled her towards the door. "See you later, bro!"  
As soon as they were out of earshot, Serenity smiled meekly. "They're cute, aren't they?"  
Wrapping an arm around her waist, the King nodded. His blue eyes were almost teary. "I have a brother..." he smiled. "And he has me..."  
"What does that mean?" asked Serenity, looking up. "Why would that be..."  
Kissing her, Endymion cut off her talking. Pulling back away, he placed a soft hand on the top of her head, stroking the golden hair. "Not even I know..." he mumbled, holding her close. "Not even I know..."  
************  
  
"Feeling better, Haley?" asked Phoebe, peeking her head into the room.  
Sitting up in her silver-sheeted bed, Haley nodded tamely. The bass drum in her head was still being pounded, and her eyes still throbbed to some unreal beat. "Yeah..." she murmured, swallowing. Her voice was weak but heard. "I'm just really tired..."  
"Aw... Dang it!" Phoebe walked into the bedroom, revealing herself. She was wearing a cream skirt with green and blue plaid on it, and her top was tight and light blue. She looked as though her stepped out of some sort of teen catalogue, only... She didn't pull it off very well. Seeing Haley's stare, she raised an eyebrow. "What are you looking at?" she asked, glancing down.   
Haley shook her head. "Nothing..." she croaked, groping for the glass of water that sat on her desk. "Now, what brings you halfway across the city?" Sipping the warm liquid, she considered Phoebe with her green eyes. "It couldn't be to see me..."  
Sitting on the edge of the bed, the blue haired girl glanced around Haley's bedroom. It was big and had a silver and orange color scheme... The same colors of Sailor Comet. A giant bookshelf sat in one corner of the room, laden with books, magazines, and family photos. One, which was of her as a child of about one and of Hannah as a teen stood out.  
Catching her friend's gaze, Haley attempted a smile. "The first picture that they took of me and Hannah..." she said with a slight bit of pain in her voice.   
"Wow..." commented the amazed girl. "You and Hannah's ages are really far apart, aren't they?"  
Haley shook her head of brown hair. "As Mistress Saturn, Hannah is eternal. She's a few centuries old, but..."  
"Looks about twenty-two..." Phoebe finished. "That's really amazing." She shrugged. "I always think of my Mom as the cranky middle aged lady that she is, but, she's really a few thousand years old." Biting her lip, she sighed. "Weird world, isn't it?"  
Nodding, the girl in bed sighed. "Now, what did you want?"  
"OH!" Phoebe groped into her green purse and pulled out several little strips of paper. "I got tickets to the big star show at Crystal Light Observatory!" she announced triumphantly. "Want to come?"  
Thinking about it, Haley chewed her lip. There were so many things that she wanted to do on the lovely Saturday it was turning out to be... But Crystal Light Observatory?  
"Reeny and Lyra are definitely going. Tara doesn't want to, but I might drag her along..." Phoebe was saying loudly with a goofy grin on her face. "What do you say?"  
Shrugging, Haley smiled weakly. "Sounds fun. But there is no way that Michelle will let me go in this state..."  
The door popped open, and Alex stuck her head in. "Haley, I'm taking the Corvette out. Need anything?" she asked. Seeing Phoebe, she let an embarrassed look pass across her face. "Sorry, Phoebe. I didn't know you were here..."  
"It's okay, Ms. Ten'ou," Phoebe politely said, smiling. "We were just talking about going out..."  
"Need a ride?" the blonde woman asked.   
Haley shook her head. "Michelle would never..."  
"What Michelle doesn't know won't get your Scout butt grounded, Kiddo." Alex winked. "Know what I mean?"  
Her face lighting up, Haley jumped out of bed. "Give me five minutes!"  
************  
  
Plopping her omelet onto the plate, Alice glanced at the time. It was ten a.m. on a Saturday morning, and Lita wasn't up yet... Nearly shaking, she put the skillet back on the stove.  
Suddenly, the door to the kitchen opened and her mother waltzed in, stretching. "Morning, dear," she said, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. "You were asleep when I got in at eleven..." she said, opening the fridge.  
"Liar." Alice took a bite of her omelet, an eerie calm in her voice.  
Nearly dropping the carton of juice, Lita glanced at her child. "Excuse me, Alice?"  
"You weren't home at eleven... I wasn't even home at eleven," she calmly responded, focusing on her breakfast. "You weren't home at midnight. When I went to bed at ONE, you weren't home, Mom..." A tear ran down her face and landed on the eggs.  
Lita stood silently for a moment before responding. "I'm so sorry..."  
"I got home at half-past eleven, and you weren't here. So what? You were at the restaurant. Fine." She bit her lip. "I practiced cello for a while, and then I read my new pet psychology book." She looked at her mother; her chocolate eyes filled with anger and...disappointment? Lita couldn't figure out what emotion her child's eyes were trying to express, but it wasn't happiness; she knew that. "It was midnight by then, Mom."  
Sitting in the chair, next to her daughter, Lita grasped one of the shaking young hands. "I'm so sorry, dear..."  
"Let me finish." Alice reclaimed her hand with a jerk and put it in her lap with the other. "I tried to read, and to think. Sleep only came when I was too tired to move. But I figured something out, Mom." Realizing that tears were running down her face, she wiped a few of them away. "I will not forgive you."  
Lita wrapped an arm around her daughter's shoulders. "I didn't know I'd run so late, Alice. I was all accidental..."  
"Since you opened your restaurant," Alice coldly responded, ignoring her mother, "my life has been little more than broken promises." She stood, looking down at her mother. The brown ponytail that the Mistress of Jupiter was so well known for was a knotted mess, and her green flannel pajamas were really wrinkled. Good old Lita, Alice thought with a half chuckle. "And I am sick of broken promises."  
As Alice Kino walked out of the kitchen, she heard her mother choke down a sob.  
It was going to be a long day.  
************  
  
Plopping down in his desk, Richard looked at his smart-alecky astronomy teacher. His parents, who were some sort of distant royalty, had forced him to take an astronomy class at the Crystal Light Observatory. At first he hadn't minded, but now... "I hate this class!" he grumbled, pulling out his book.  
The teacher, a middle-aged man with interestingly colored hair (namely, purple) glared at Richard. "Master Umino, don't get too comfortable." Pulling a large envelope out of a desk drawer, the teacher smirked. "You are going to see the star show."  
"Why me?" Richard challenged, standing. "I don't even want to be here, and you're making me see that silly star show?" Putting his hands on his hips, he gazed at his teacher with disdain. "I won't go."  
"Get over yourself, Richard," the teacher responded. "I want you to go because I'm talking about the Milky Way today, and you have extreme knowledge in that field." Rolling his eyes, he handed over the envelope. "Here's your ticket, Pretty Boy."   
Grabbing his backpack, Richard rolled his eyes. "Thanks..."  
As he left, he sighed. "I guess..."  
************  
  
"This is horrendously boring," Greed muttered from her front row seat at the star show. "And I'm done with my popcorn, Illness..."  
Rolling his brown eyes, the male Raider sighed warily. "Greed?" he asked, turning to her.  
She popped a handful of TicTacs into her mouth. "Wha?" she questioned, nearly choking on the mints.  
"The show hasn't started yet." He sighed and opened his book.  
Glancing at the book, Greed wrinkled her nose. "War Strategy? How boring!" Slouching in her seat, she pouted. "I hate star shows anyway..."  
Nearly throwing his book down in anger, Illness glared at her. "I am sick of your incessant whining!" he yelled. "Just be quiet and enjoy the..."  
"Is this seat twelve?" came a male voice.  
Illness looked up and saw a young man with brown, highlighted hair and an awful tan suit. Standing behind him was an impossibly tall young woman with uncanny green hair.   
Illness nodded. "I have seat thirteen, so I'd assume that you're right." He glanced at Greed, who was making faces behind his back.  
"Oh!" The man said as he sat. "How rude of me! I'm Terrence Chiba." He offered his hand.  
Illness shook it limply. "I'm...uh... Ike," he lied, blushing a bit. "And this is my friend... Gretchen."  
"Gretchen?" Greed hissed, smacking him in the shoulder. "Couldn't you come up with something better than Gretchen?"  
Terrence smiled politely. "This is my hot date of the day, Sets Meiou."  
"Susan!" The young woman slapped Terrence in the back of his head. "My name is NOT Sets! Do we understand each other?" she crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair. "And I assure you, I am NOT his date, either."  
Terrence chuckled. "She's right... Susan is acting as my tour guide for the day," he corrected, gazing longingly at her. "But she is quite a piece of work."  
"Hmph!" she snorted.  
Illness smiled a bit and gazed at Greed, who was reading a battered comic book. So beautiful... And so untouchable... "I know what you mean, Terrence..." he sighed, resisting the urge to smooth her messy black hair.   
"Doesn't it just stink, Ike?" the young man asked, grabbing Susan's hand. "So beautiful, so smart..." He kissed it and returned the hand, Susan staring with wide eyes the entire time. "But so out of reach..."  
Sighing, Illness smoothed his khakis. "Yeah," he finally said softly. "It does..."  
************  
  
"Row two, seats fifteen through eighteen." Phoebe glanced at the tickets and then at the seats. "Here we are."  
Reeny, Haley, and Lyra filed in, letting the blue haired ticket-holder have the last seat.   
The Princess opened her purse, and a pink cat's head popped out. "Never again!" hissed Diana, gasping for air. "Next time you go out, I stay home!"  
Lyra rolled her brown eyes. "Come on, Diana... It's not all that bad..."  
"Is too!" the cat retorted, glaring at each of the Scouts separately. "How about we lock you in a tiny bag for an hour and see how YOU like it!" Turning up her nose, she snorted. "And I have a funny feeling about all this, anyway!"  
"Great time to tell us," groaned Phoebe, playing with the Sailor Mercury key chain on her purse. "Right AFTER we get here..."  
Haley sat quietly, staring at the woman directly in front of her with wide eyes. "Oh...my..."  
Leaning forward, the Princess of the Earth raised an eyebrow. "What?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. "Are you feeling alright?"  
"It's not me... It's just that..." Shaking her head a little, Haley swallowed hard. "Susan is sitting right in front of me, Reeny."  
"Susan?" Diana's eyes grew large. "You've GOT to be kidding."  
Phoebe shrugged. "Only one way to find out..." Tapping the green haired young woman on the shoulder, she grinned. "Excuse me... Miss?"  
The woman turned around, and Haley gasped.  
Familiar garnet eyes.  
Long green hair with bangs that were forever messy.  
Crimson earrings...as always.  
Susan.  
"Susan?" Haley gasped. "I can't believe that you're here!"  
Chuckling, the woman smiled warmly. "If you had been awake last night, you would have seen that I came to get you... Hannah, too."  
Haley blushed a bit. "Sorry about that, Aunt Susan. I just... uh..." Shaking her head, she voted to change the subject. "What brings you here?"  
"Duty," Susan snorted, rolling her eyes. "Royal duty."  
The lights dimmed a little, and Haley smiled. "I guess that's the minute warning."  
Her aunt nodded. "Don't you worry, though-we'll have plenty of time to talk later, Haley."  
Meanwhile, Lyra was enjoying her battered copy of Julius Caesar when a slightly familiar voice made itself audible.  
"Is this seat nineteen?" it asked.  
Looking up, the girl gasped in delight. "Hi Richard!" she exclaimed, grinning.   
He glanced down at her thoughtfully, and then recognition graced his confused face. "Oh, hi Lyra," he responded, sitting down in the seat and depositing his backpack on the floor. "What's new with you?"  
She shrugged. "Nothing much. How about with you?"  
"Nothing," he responded nonchalantly, glancing at her book through his silver glasses. "Oh! Julius Caesar?"  
"Yep!" Lyra exclaimed, closing the book and gazing at the cover. "I just love Shakespeare..."  
"Who's your friend?" Phoebe suddenly asked the blonde girl, winking slyly. "He's cute."  
Lyra blushed deeply and stared down at the floor. "This is Richard... We met at the pizza parlor yesterday."  
Ice blue eyes growing wide, Phoebe gulped. "At Pizza Hut?" she asked, amazement in her voice.  
"How'd you escape from those idiotic freaks, anyway?" he asked, a bit of concern in his voice. "I was sort of worried."  
Haley leaned far back in her seat and grinned at him. "Galactic Sailors saved her butt, of course."  
"Who?" Richard repeated, raising and eyebrow and looking extremely worried.   
Reeny smirked and looked at him. "Richard Umino, don't tell me that-as a child of a friend of the Queen-YOU don't know of the Galactic Sailor Scouts."  
"Can't say I do..." he attempted, glancing at the giant screen.   
"They are six female warriors," Phoebe sighed, polishing her nails on her shirt. "Born and raised to protect the Galaxy from death, destruction, and..."  
"Rabid turtles," Reeny finished. Getting an odd look from the others, she raised her arms defensively. "What?"  
Suddenly, the lights went off and the screen began to light up. Stars and planets appeared on the screen, and the seats began to tilt backwards a bit.   
"Eeek!" The Princess clutched her armrests with white knuckles. "My chair... it's a Negaverse warrior come to kill me!" She pulled her knees into the fetal position.  
Richard and Phoebe both chuckled while Lyra patted her friend's hand. "It's okay, Reeny..."  
"Is not!" Sniffling, the pink-haired girl glanced at the screen. "And, besides... I don't like the dark..."  
Suddenly, two shadows appeared on the screen. One was thin and frail-looking... The other was obviously very female and shapely...  
Haley's one word could be heard through the entire auditorium as the four Scouts recognized the shadows.  
"Shit."  
************  
  
Tara ran into the room her father was housed in, almost afraid of the news. Her mother's choked half-sob and half-scream was heard at the opposite end of the temple grounds, and she just hoped it wasn't bad news...  
Clutching her locket, the dark haired girl slowed her pace. "In the name of the Earth," she solemnly said, bowing her head. "Please let everything be okay..."  
She didn't even notice the shadow standing over her as she prayed.  
"I know that I'm not the greatest daughter, Serenity..." she cooed, thinking of the Moon Queen that Reeny so often mentioned. "But I know you're up there... Protecting us Sailors, and hoping we do it right..." She tried to smile, but tears came instead of happiness. "But I don't want to do it right... Not without my father..."  
"Oh, Tara..." came a calm, loving voice. "Don't you talk like that... Everything is okay, now..."  
Looking slowly up, she felt her green eyes fill with more tears. But they were not tears of sadness, she realized as an involuntary smile crossed her face. They were tears of joy.  
Chad smiled down at her and opened his arms, weeping his own tears of joy as his young daughter hugged him.  
"Didn't your mother tell you to hope?" he asked lovingly, smoothing her hair. "And don't you listen to her... ever?"  
Tara tried to be mad for his well-meant scolding, but she couldn't be angry at him-not after the week of worry and sleepless nights...  
Feeling her mother's touch, Tara looked up. The Mistress of Mars' old flair and spunk graced her face again, and Tara realized Chad meant more to Raye than the temple did... More, it seemed, than life itself.  
Kissing the top of Tara's head, Raye held back a few tears. "You're a great daughter. I know I don't seem to care, but I thought we were going to lose everything..."  
"It's not lost, my love," Chad smiled slightly, pulling Raye into the hug. "It's just been found."  
************  
  
"Damn it!" Haley jumped from empty seat to empty seat, trying to get to the front door of the auditorium. "Why does this always happen to us?"   
Almost stepping on a young woman in her seat, Reeny grimaced. "What did you expect from Greed and Illness?" she asked, panting. "A formal invitation?"  
Lyra just rolled her eyes. "Don't argue. We don't need whining, we need action!"  
Greed's voice boomed throughout the room. "Princess! We know you're here!"  
"No crap!" Phoebe shot back, annoyed. "Of course she's here, you seductive little..."  
"Phoebe!" scolded Lyra. "Don't you start!"  
When they reached the aisle, the four girls all stared at each other, unsure what to do.  
"We could leave," suggested Diana from her place at their feet.   
Haley shook her head. "If we do that, they'll catch us for sure."  
"Yeah," agreed Phoebe, pulling out her mother's Mercury computer. "It's too dark for them to see us, now."  
"What's that?" asked Reeny, amazed.  
The blue-haired Sailor shrugged. "It's my mom's. I borrowed it."  
Grimacing, Haley glared at them. "Hello? Anyone functioning right now?" she asked in an annoyed tone. "The Raiders are here, and they're cranky, and they are going to beat us up!"  
Two new figures appeared.  
"Maybe we can help," suggested a kind and timeless voice.  
Another voice chimed in. "Yeah! After all, I'm Endymion's little brother..."  
"Huh?" asked Reeny. "What did you say?"  
Susan rolled her garnet eyes and punched Terrence in the arm. "He didn't say anything worthwhile," she chuckled, slightly lovingly. "Anyway, we can distract those Raiders if you need to escape."  
"Really?" asked Phoebe, ice blue eyes wide. "You can do that?"  
Grinning slyly, Susan pulled a circle of beads off her wrists. "I'm the Mistress and Sailor of Pluto. I can do anything I please."  
"Got to love her," Terrence smiled.  
Haley cocked her head. "Who are you?" she asked, perplexed.  
He shrugged. "Just the brother of the King."   
"Princess!" called Greed loudly. "Come out!"  
Susan waved her arms. "Go! We'll take care of the rest!"  
Lyra, Reeny, and Phoebe ran out, but Haley lingered behind for a moment, afraid of what was going to happen. "Aunt Susan... Are you sure that you..."  
"Get out of here!" Susan scolded, fingering the crimson and dark green beads. "I can take care of this!"  
Haley smiled and hugged her aunt quickly. "Thanks."  
She was gone.  
"I hope you know what you're doing, Sets," Terrence said firmly, pulling out a yellow rose. "I'd like to live through this."  
"My name is Susan!" she yelled at him, raising the beads high. "Not Sets!"  
"Whatever." He glanced at her. "I didn't know you're Sailor Pluto."  
"That's nice." Susan cleared her throat. "Pluto Eternal Power!" she cried, waving the beads above her head. "MAKE UP!"  
************  
  
Alice sat in her bedroom, trying to make sense out of her orchestra music. The fact that she was still crying a bit wasn't helping the tiny notes be any clearer. Throwing the music aside, her laid back on her bed and stared up at the lavender ceiling.  
"It's not fair," she thought aloud. "I don't have a father... My mother doesn't really seem to care... And I can't read my cello music."  
"Well, maybe it's because the music is written for violin." Lita emerged from the bathroom doorway and picked up the sheet. "I accidentally grabbed the wrong folder at Crossroads when I picked up your stuff."  
Sighing, the girl shrugged. "Oh."  
Sitting on Alice's desk chair, Lita looked at her feet. "I know how hard this is for you."  
"And how do you know that?" asked Alice, sitting up. "How can you know what I'm feeling? You didn't come home, you didn't call..." Choking on her own tears, she let her eyes wander to the fish tank.   
"My parents were killed in a plane crash when I was a kid," responded the woman seriously, wiping a tear from a green eye. "I missed them, and there were nights... You couldn't imagine how much I cried."  
"But you got over it," Alice said. "You found your friends..."  
"But I worried." Lita took one of her daughter's hands. "I didn't worry about them, but I did worry about myself. How I could survive, how I could live..."  
Alice understood suddenly. Her mother had to survive with less, and she did. Living alone from age twelve, she had learned. And maybe...  
"I guess I'll learn how to support you and the restaurant without a dad lurking around here."  
"That's the spirit!" Lita smiled, playing with a brown hair. "But, for all it's worth... I am sorry, dear."  
Climbing over the bed and halfway onto her mother's lap, Alice grinned an impish grin. "So am I, Mom," she smiled. "So am I."  
************  
  
"They're all alone in there!" yelled Haley as Reeny and Phoebe dragged her down the hall of the observatory. "You can't do this to them! My aunt will get..."  
"So you want us to transform out here, Haley?" Reeny shot back commandingly. "There's a janitor's closet at the end of the hall." Walking a little faster, the Princess of the Earth put on a determined face.   
Phoebe was oddly silent as they made their way down the long hall. She looked positively reflective, and Lyra latched onto that.  
"What's wrong?" the blonde asked.  
Shrugging, the girl played with one of her many braids. "I don't really know... Something's just nagging me about this..."  
Lyra smiled. "Well, don't worry. We can win."  
"And that hunky Starlit Prince will save our butts if we get into trouble," giggled Reeny.  
"I'd rather have Richard," commented Lyra. Realizing what she said, a blush crept across her face. "I mean..."  
Phoebe giggled warmly. "It's okay..."  
"We understand," Haley added.  
Reeny, though, made a face. "Richard? UGH!" Sticking out her tongue, she threw open the door to the janitor's closet. "Everybody in."  
They obeyed, and four Scouts drew out their lockets.  
"Ready?" asked Phoebe.  
Lyra smiled and cracked her knuckles. "I was born ready!"  
Smiling, Haley chuckled. "Good answer!"  
Reeny raised her locket. "Moon Galactic Power... MAKE UP!"  
"Phoenix Galactic Power..." Phoebe held up her locket. "MAKE UP!"  
Haley grinned grimly. "Comet Galactic Power... MAKE UP!"  
Glancing at her locket, Lyra wondered if she'd ever even see Richard again. But, shrugging off her strange feeling, she held the locket above her.  
"Polaris Galactic Power... MAKE UP!"  
************  
  
Watching her parents as they talked, Tara forced a smile. Sometimes her mother was a jerk, and sometimes her father didn't understand, but she was stuck with them-and she loved them. What more really mattered?  
Suddenly, she felt something very warm against her chest.  
"My locket!" she yelped, groping for the little disc. "It's warm again!"  
At about the same time, she noticed her mother's hand fly to the opposite wrist, fingering a bracelet of purple and red beads. Then, the Mistress of Mars glanced at her daughter.  
"The Galactic Sailors just transformed," said Tara, closing her eyes lightly. "They're in danger."  
"So is Mistress Pluto," Raye said grimly. "She just transformed."  
Tara nodded nervously. "I'm going to go..."  
Standing, Raye took the beads off her wrist. "So am I."  
"No, you're not!" retorted the teen, making a face. "It's a Galactic Sailor battle, Mother. You don't need to come..."  
"If Pluto transformed," Chad said strongly, "all Hell is going to break loose."  
Gasping a bit, Tara grimaced. She hadn't thought of that.   
"I'm coming with," repeated Raye, purple eyes flaring with some sort of passion.  
Her daughter nodded. "That, you are." She raised the Locket of Earth, face turning very pale. "Earth Galactic Power..."  
Holding her string of beads high, Raye swallowed the lump in her throat. "Mars Eternal Power..."  
"MAKE UP!" yelled two voices in unison.  
From his seat at the kitchen table, Chad smiled as his wife and daughter transformed.  
"Those are my girls..."  
************  
  
Alice and Lita both dropped their plates.  
"My locket..." Searching her pockets, the girl became frantic.  
"My beads..." Lita fingered the green and pink beads that hung limply on her thin wrist.  
The two looked at one another. "Both the Sailors..."  
"And the Mistresses..."  
"IN DANGER AT THE SAME TIME?" they finished together.  
Neither spoke, but both held their hands high.  
The older woman spoke first. "Jupiter Eternal Power..."  
"Aurora Borealis Galactic Power..." Alice thrust the locket higher into the air.  
"MAKE UP!"  
************  
  
"Pluto Eternal Attack!" hollered Pluto, twisting her key staff in midair.  
Diving out of the way, Greed gasped. "She's strong as a herd of bears..."  
Illness crossed his hands. "Swirling Despair!"   
The floor became a whirling, black pit of nothingness. Terrence jumped onto a seat to avoid being sucked into oblivion, but Pluto just sighed.  
"Pluto Mistress Power!" she exclaimed, touching her staff to the pit.  
The pit closed in an instant.  
Illness' brown eyes turned large. "Why does this seem very wrong?" he asked in shock.  
Terrence smirked from his perch. "Because it is?" He let a yellow rose fly.  
Greed hit the rose away with a swing of her long sword. "Got anything better than that?"  
"This!" Pluto aimed her staff at Greed's large head.  
The young Raider dodged and managed to parry it, knocking Pluto off her feet.  
"Sets!" exclaimed Terrence, jumping off his chair and kneeling down to her.  
Raising a black eyebrow, Greed stepped back from them. "Are you nuts, man?" she asked him, circling the scene. "I didn't even hurt her, and you're protecting that Sailor Mistress or whatever she is?"  
Climbing to her feet, Pluto lowered her dark crimson eyes. "You wouldn't understand what caring about someone is," she retorted firmly. "And even if you did, you wouldn't protect someone."  
Greed made a face. "Highly overrated," she responded, raising her sword. "I'll be sure to tell the little Sailors you care, Miss Pluto..."  
"STOP!" screamed a young voice from the entrance of the room.  
Stopping, Raider Greed put down her sword. "Now what?"  
Sailor Moon looked at Sailor Comet. "I didn't think that would work... Hang on a second while we think up a plan."  
Rolling her green eyes, Greed leaned against the wall of the auditorium. "Do they normally do this?"  
Illness shrugged. "This can't possibly be normal Scout policy..."  
The huddle of Scouts finally broke up, much to the relief of cornered Terrence and Sailor Pluto.  
"We are the Sailor Scouts!" said Sailor Moon.  
"We right wrongs!" Sailor Phoenix added.  
Sailor Polaris smiled. "We triumph over evil!"  
"And that means you!" Sailor Comet smirked. "Both of you!"  
"Done yet?" asked Greed, polishing her nails.  
Sailor Moon nodded. "Quite."  
"WATER STORM!" screamed Illness.  
The room's ceiling began to rain scalding hot water on the Scouts.  
"Ouch!" Phoenix dodged a few drops, only to get hit by five. "It's hot!"  
Comet attempted her attack, but couldn't get the words out between being hit. "Comet... ouch! Com-OUCH! That stings!"  
"What... Ow! Do we... ouch! Do?" asked a wriggling Polaris.  
"Mars Mistress Power!" came a voice.  
The rain instantly disappeared, and the Scouts all breathed sighs of relief.  
"Need a hand?" Sailor Earth came out of a shadow, accompanied by the transformed Mistress of Mars.  
The dress Mars wore was red silk and down to her ankles. Trimmed with purple velvet, it brought out all her features and made her look timeless. Around her neck was a string of alternating purple and red beads and, in the center, was a locket of the same color.  
"Mistress Mars..." All four Scouts bowed deeply.  
Mars waved a hand. "Up, Scouts."  
"Thank you, oh worthy Mistress Mars," Moon said in a reverent tone.  
Greed and Illness raised their eyebrows in unison. "This is pretty dumb," Illness commented.  
"What do you mean?" asked Greed.  
"I mean... ATTACK!" he yelled.  
The two Raiders forgot about Terrence and Pluto and went after the five Scouts and the Mistress Mars.  
"Aurora Borealis... SHINING!" screamed a Scout as she jumped down from the projection booth.  
Blinding light shimmered down onto the two Raiders.  
"I can't see!" yelped Greed.  
"It's too bright!" the brown-robed Illness groaned. "I can't see where I am."  
"Sailors..." called a woman in all green. "Attack!"  
The Sailor Scouts all looked at each other.  
Stepping forward, Mistress Jupiter smoothed her skirt. "WELL?"  
The Scouts all readied themselves.  
"Comet Crater... CLOSE!" The floor opened up.  
"Earthly Thunderstorm... STRIKE!" Thunder, wind, and lightning rained down on the Raiders.  
"Starry Sky... SMASH!" A ball of stardust began to build up above their heads.  
"Phoenix Heat... FLASHING!" Steam and fire erupted from Phoenix's outstretched hands.  
Moon took out the Galactic Rod and held it far over her head. "In the name of the Moon, I will punish you!" she announced, waving it to one side and then the other. "Galactic... SHOWER!"  
Moon dust began to rain down, and the ball of stardust began to fall.  
At that very moment, Illness' eyes adjusted to the light and he saw what was about to happen. "NO!" he yelled, pushing Greed into the rows of seats. "TAKE ME!"  
************  
  
Death looked up from his paperwork and smiled.  
"At least she's alright," he observed happily. "That's good to know."  
He turned back to his work.  
************  
  
Illness' body lay on the floor of the auditorium, twitching a bit.  
Sailor Moon glanced down at what was left. "We did that?"  
"By yourselves, too," smiled Sailor Pluto, walking up the stairs and to the group of Scouts. "Without much of our help."  
Jupiter and Mars both smiled at one another.  
"So this is what a Mistress really is," Jupiter commented. "Long time, no see... Eh, Raye?"  
Raye nodded. "Nice to see you, Lita."  
The brunette hugged her friend. "You're not getting away with being the tough girl today, Mars!"  
Shinto Priestess Raye Yuuichirou, also known as the Mistress Mars, hugged her friend back.  
"Aww..." cooed Terrence, joining the group. "How sweet..."  
The six Scouts, three Planet Mistresses, and one young man exited the room.  
And, just then, Greed opened her eyes.  
"Illness!" she screamed. His body was charred and black, but she could see that he was still alive.   
Coughing, he looked into her beautiful green eyes. "For what it's worth, Greed..." he murmured, trying to speak. "I... I love you..."  
Letting a tear roll down her cheek, Greed bit her lip. "Maybe I shouldn't have listened to Death, this time around..." she thought aloud, picking up her sword and glancing at the green and silver blade. "And maybe... Maybe I wasn't worth saving." She knelt and kissed his blackened cheek. "Goodbye, Illness. I'll miss you."  
"Goodbye..." he coughed, letting out his last breath.  
************  
  
In the black marble chamber of the Raider Starship, a brown gem shattered and disappeared.  
From his spot in the center of the seven-pointed star, the King opened a crimson eye.  
"Illness is dead," he slowly spoke.   
"What does it matter?" hissed a silvery shadow. "You've learned the strengths of the Sailors."  
"True."  
"You have learned the strengths that silly emotions can bring." The shadow flickered. "You have even learned what Planet Mistresses do."  
The King nodded. "Yes, you are right, Spirit. What else do you suggest?"  
"Put Death on the current team, of course," the Spirit mocked. "He'll do fine... For a time, anyway."  
The Raider King raised an eyebrow. "Are you saying that they are all going to die?"  
The shadow shrugged. "I suppose I am. If you're not careful, you will be on the Sailor Scouts' hit list, King." The shadow faded, but the voice remained. "Do as I say, and you might live through this all."  
"Yes, Spirit." The King bowed his head in reverence, and then transported out by thought.  
The Chamber of Spirits was once again empty.  
************  
  
"Thank you, again," Susan smiled, walking Terrence up to his new apartment building. "I really enjoyed all of today."  
Terrence turned to her and looked into her eyes. "I had a lot of fun, too, Sets." He winked. "Well... maybe not during that while Sailor battle business, but..."  
Cutting him off with a chuckle, Susan's smile grew. "Yet another thing I must thank you for. You protected me and my niece." Susan blushed a little, gazing at the ground.   
"And you still don't like me?" he asked, confusion in his voice.  
Susan grinned. "Well, I must say..." She gave up on decorum and spoke her mind. "I hated you when I met you, but I at least thought you cute. Now... I think I could grow to really care about you, Terrance."  
"Terry." He produced a rose and handed it to her. "You can call me Terry."  
"I kind of like the name 'Sets'." She blushed deeper and took the rose. "You're a great person, you know that?"  
He shrugged. "Of course I do, Sets!" he responded sweetly.   
Chuckling, she kissed him on the cheek. "I'll see you around, I guess..." Susan turned around and began to walk away.  
"Wait, Sets..." Terrence ran up to her and grabbed her wrist. "Don't go yet. It's only eight."  
She raised an eyebrow. "Well, what should we do, then?"  
Taking her hand gently, he kissed it lightly and them squeezed it a bit. "Want some coffee?"  
Smiling, she let him lead her to the door. "I'd like that."  
************  
  
Galactic Sailors Say!  
  
Lyra: (staring at the story) Hmm... What are Terrance and Susan up to?  
  
Starlit Prince enters.  
  
Starlit Prince: I don't think I got NEARLY enough screen time in this story. I mean, I'm the handsome and charming male character. Why don't I get as much fame as the rest of them?  
  
Lyra: (clearing her throat) Uh... This is the 'Sailor Says' studio. Jerry Springer is down the hall.  
  
Starlit Prince: (blushing) Oh. Sorry.  
  
He exits.  
  
Lyra: (sighing) Today, we learned that sometimes, we all have to work together in order to succeed.  
  
Enter Orb and Diana, bickering.  
  
Orb: You wish you were as cute as me!  
  
Diana: Don't flatter yourself, pretty cat.  
  
Orb: You are jealous! It's written all over your face!  
  
Diana: (sticking out tongue and walking away) Good for nothing bratty brother! Never again will I be so sweet to...  
  
Orb: (smiling sweetly) And today, we learned that Diana is a jerk. Now RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!  
  
Exit Orb.  
  
Diana: (whirling around) You little...  
  
Exit Diana after Orb.  
  
Haley: (jumping down from the ceiling) And we learned that, with a little makeup, even cranky old Hannah can look like she's from Vogue magazine!  
  
Lyra: (rolling eyes) Oh, please... She's not THAT bad.  
  
Haley: You don't know her very well, do you?  
  
Greed's voice: And we learned that, by sucking up, you can get anything you darn well please.  
  
Lyra: (wrinkling her nose) That's reassuring.  
  
Enter Reeny in her Sailor Moon garb.  
  
Reeny: So, remember... This isn't the Springer Show, you have to work together, makeup is good, and sucking up gets you what you want. Sailor Moon Says...  
  
All Scouts: See ya!  
  
-I Know (formally called "All You Need is Love")-  
Look around...(Tara, sitting next to Queen Serenity, stares up at the night sky)  
So many things aren't clear...  
(Phoebe looks blankly at a math book)  
Don't worry, though...  
(Lyra smiles while picking up her tuba)  
You know that I'll be there...  
(Sailor Pluto and Haley smile knowingly at each other)  
A lot of things are so uncertain...  
(Alice looks sadly at a clock while the sun sets over Crystal Tokyo)  
The future's on its way...  
(Reeny holds the Locket of the Moon, smiling)  
Look at my crying eyes...  
(Luna and Artemis console an upset Diana)  
Don't take your love away!  
(Hannah sighs, looking at a sleeping Haley)  
  
Sometimes, the road looks long...  
(Mina looks at her children with Andrew behind her)  
And sometimes, the world seems wrong...  
(Alex and Michelle smile at one another and then blush deeply)  
But I know, I know, all you need is love.  
(The six girls, untransformed, hold their lockets high)  
  
Sometimes, you feel weak...  
(Lita smoothes the hair of a crying Alice)  
And sometimes, the future looks bleak...  
(Raye and Chad stand behind Tara, who is staring at her locket)  
But I know, I know, all you need is love.  
(The six Galactic Sailors stand in a half circle)  
  
Times will change...  
(Amy looks out of a window and at Crystal Palace)  
People will change, too...  
(Endymion looks at Serenity, who is pouring over a book)  
But deep inside...  
(Lyra hugs Celeste)  
I always will love you...  
(Diana falls asleep on Reeny's lap)  
I suppose there are questions now...  
(Alice and Phoebe stare blankly at one another)  
The answers are so far...  
(Michelle stands in front of the orchestra, talking)  
But look at me and smile now...  
(Tara lovingly hugs her father)  
I am your guiding star!  
(Haley smiles at a studying Hannah)  
  
Sometimes, the road looks long...  
(Mina looks at her children with Andrew behind her)  
And sometimes, the world seems wrong...  
(Alex and Michelle smile at one another and then blush deeply)  
But I know, I know, all you need is love.  
(The six girls, untransformed, hold their lockets high)  
  
Sometimes, you feel weak...  
(Lita smoothes the hair of a crying Alice)  
And sometimes, the future looks bleak...  
(Raye and Chad stand behind Tara, who is staring at her locket)  
But I know, I know, all you need is love.  
(The six Galactic Sailors stand in a half circle)  
  
I know...  
(The Planet Mistresses stand in a circle)  
I know...  
(The Galactic Sailors stand in a circle)  
All you need is love...  
(The Mistresses and Sailors all stand together, holding hands, with their eyes closed)  
All you need...is...love...  
(A single purple rose sits in a vase)  
  
************  
  
Author's Ramblings: How about that? I'm done! YAY! (deep breath) Aren't you proud?  
How about some feedback? I'll leave 2 email addresses at the bottom of this, and you can talk to both of us. Or one. What does it matter?  
I renamed my song. It turns out those stupid Beatles have a song called "All You Need Is Love". Well, now my song is called "I Know". Pretty silly name, but the first one was taken! (Stupid Beatles!)  
Until next time, we are your obedient writers!  
Kate and Christina  
(duncan@chicago.avenew.com = Kate)  
(ladybug142@aol.com = Christina)  
  
"Journalism is literature in a hurry!" -Runaway Bride  
"Together forever, no matter how long. From now until the end of time. We'll be together, and you can be sure... That forever and a day, that's how long we'll stay... Together and forever more." -Together Forever from 2.B.A. Master   
(Pokemon Soundtrack)  



	4. Destiny Changes Everything

Destiny Changes Everything-A Galactic Sailors Story  
  
Author's Ramblings: It's here! It's finally here! We've been through a lot, but   
we've done it! Story Four has finally arrived!  
There is a lot of new stuff in this story, some of which are revelations to   
important things... We hope you all know what you're getting yourself into!   
(smirk)  
KATE: I have taken a break from writing Galena stuff because I am really behind on  
the Galactic Sailors stuff. Don't worry, she'll be back, but everyone needs a   
break once in a great while, right?  
DISCLAIMER OF THE DAY: We don't like totally own like Sailor Moon. It's like   
totally wickedly unfair that like we like didn't like think up the idea for the   
totally cool show which is SM, but we like   
will totally borrow it for now.   
Rated PG  
~Your friends and authors,  
Kate and Christina  
************  
  
THE STORY SO FAR:  
The Raiders have lost Illness. That's right-the Sailor Scouts toasted his   
brown-robed butt. Also, Endymion's younger brother, Terrence, has come for a visit  
, and has developed some sort of friendship with Susan, whom he calls Sets. Yes,   
Susan is back for a visit, but no one is completely sure why.  
And Lyra has met an older boy named Richard who she has a crush on. Richard  
somehow knows Reeny, though he never touched upon why.  
And that, my friends, is where the story begins...  
************  
  
"Truth or dare?" Lyra giggled, rolling onto her stomach. "Umm... How about   
you, Tara? Truth or dare?"  
The black haired Shinto girl rolled her eyes. "I hate sleepovers," she   
muttered in an annoyed tone. "Why me?"  
"Come on!" Phoebe lobed her stuffed Sailor Mercury doll at the girl.   
"You've got to pick!"  
Tara wrinkled her nose. "This is stupid..."  
"Duh..." Alice rolled her chocolate eyes. "That's why it's a sleepover   
game!"  
"Truth..." muttered Tara, placing a piece of caramel popcorn in her mouth.   
Lyra giggled and huddled with the others, trying to think up the perfect   
question for the youngest of the Galactic Sailors.  
Rolling her green eyes, Tara leaned against the bookshelf. Her mother had   
pushed her to go, because Haley's house was big and the family as a whole would   
put up with the ruckus of six teen girls better than, say, her parents would.  
"Okay!" squealed the blonde, sitting up and looking at Tara sternly. "If you  
were given a choice, who would you rather date-your dad or my dad?"  
An horrified grimace passing across her face, Tara stuck up her nose. "I   
will NOT answer that!" she yelled, blushing deeply while trying to act dignified.   
"That's a stupid question, anyway!"  
Haley sniggered. "So, your dad then?"  
The girl attempted to hit the elder Scout across the face with her pillow,   
but missed and decked Reeny, instead.  
"Uh!" the Princess managed, spitting her pigtail out of her mouth. "Tara!"  
Tara paled. "Umm... Oops?"  
"I'll 'oops' you, Temple Girl!" she shot back, standing up and arming   
herself. "You know why?"  
"Why?" asked Alice with a smug grin.  
Reeny did the classic Sailor Moon stance. "I am the Princess of the Earth   
and champion of justice!"  
Lyra rolled her eyes and beamed Reeny with a pillow.  
Before any of the teens could resist, the shrieks and shouting of a pillow   
fight filled the blue house. Alice and Phoebe were hiding behind the piano, trying  
to protect themselves, while Reeny was having a grand old time beaming each of the  
other Scouts over the head.  
"Cut it out!" Dressed in a full-length purple nightgown, Hannah Tomoe glared  
at the six girls from her place on the stairwell. All of them froze in mid-battle,  
and Reeny blushed the color of her eyes-scarlet.  
"I need my sleep, kids," she spat, lowering her indescribably timeless   
purple eyes and allowing them to fly from teen to teen. "So either shut up or take  
your silly slumber party elsewhere."  
"Aw, Hannah," cooed Reeny, skipping over to the older girl. "Why don't you   
join us? After all, we used to play all the time..."  
The scowl turned into a sad smile on the pale face, but Hannah shook her   
head. "My midterms are tomorrow, Reen... Any other time, I'd join you..." As   
memories swept over her, she shrugged. "Have fun, though..."  
As her sister left, Haley raised an eyebrow. "How'd you do that?" she asked   
her pink-haired friend.  
Reeny shrugged. "It's a gift, I guess..."  
"Weird gift," Lyra thought aloud, collapsing on the couch. "Now what?"  
Phoebe yawned. "Charades?"  
"NO!" chorused the others, throwing pillows at her.   
"You've won eight games in a row!" Alice protested, sticking out her tongue.  
Tara nodded in agreement. "That doesn't qualify as fun, Phoebe."  
"You're just jealous," the young thespian smirked, bowing. "I'm so much more  
amusing than you, you just can't take it..."  
"Shut up," Reeny retorted, letting herself yawn. "You're getting an ego..."  
Suddenly, a sound snapped them all to attention. A key entered the front   
door lock, to be exact.  
The brown haired hostess paled. "Shit..." she muttered, glancing at her   
watch. "It's two a.m., and someone's at the door!"  
Diving to her overnight bag, Reeny emptied its contents on the floor. "My   
locket's in here..." Staring at the mess, she grimaced. "Somewhere..."  
Shaking her head quickly, Tara jumped up. "It's Susan! I can sense it!"  
"Susan?" Alice looked doubtful. "Come on, Tara... The Guardian of Time would  
probably have a better appreciation of getting in at a decent hour..."  
The door opened, and a tall, longhaired shadow walked in... A shadow who   
wore a long, black dress and crimson earrings.  
"Auntie!" protested Haley, jumping up. "It's really late! What were you   
doing out at such an hour?" Concern marred both the features and voice of the   
teen.  
Susan smiled shyly and shrugged. "I had... things... to do..." she   
commented, taking off her long coat.   
"But..." pressed Reeny, curious.  
"It is none of your concern, Princess," she harshly continued, vermilion   
eyes lowering quickly. "Don't worry your head about it-more important matters   
should haunt you."  
Closing her eyes, Tara tried her hardest to read the woman's aura, but it   
seemed... blurry? The Shinto priestess couldn't make heads nor tails of it all.  
"Goodnight, Sailors," the Mistress and Sailor of Pluto casually commented.   
"I'll see you all in the morn."  
"Night, Auntie..." Haley sighed, sitting on the couch with a scowl.  
A silence ensued, all six girls thoughtfully trying to comment on the   
situation.  
It was Phoebe who finally broke the silence. "What was that?" she asked,   
leaning back into the armchair she had thrown herself on. "I don't get it!"  
"Her aura was vague..." Tara gulped, almost afraid to look at the concerned   
girl on the couch. "No aura's ever been like that for me before..."  
Alice snorted. "You obviously didn't do the bippiti-boppiti-boo right," she   
sniggered, glancing at the younger girl.   
Tara froze in place, eyes darting evilly to the auburn-headed girl at the   
other end of the room. "Alice, I wouldn't say such things if I were you..." she   
responded coolly.  
"And why not?" Alice retorted snidely.  
"Because... I am Sailor Earth!" She threw her pillow at Alice.  
The fight resumed within seconds.  
************  
  
"What's a... a..." Greed tried to read the words with little luck. "What's a  
compact disc, Deathie?"  
Grimacing at his nickname, Raider Death pulled the sheet from the   
dark-haired woman. "What in Heaven's name are you reading?"  
"It's for some place called 'Best Buy'," she responded, a bit of confusion   
in her high voice. "I don't know what a 'Best Buy' is, but it supposedly   
specializes in these things called compact discs."  
"They play music," Doubt sneered from her spot on the couch. Looking at   
Death, she smirked. "Right... Deathie?"  
Taking a deep breath and resisting the urge to kill his higher officer, he   
bit a pale lip and smiled at Greed. "Doubt's right for once, Greed," he smiled,   
pointing to the pictures on the paper. "This is an advertisement for music... A   
lot of humans listen to compact discs."  
Greed raised an eyebrow. "Weird humans..."  
He laughed and kissed the top of her head, causing Doubt to stick out her   
wine-colored tongue in disgust. Mouthing "get a room" to her subordinate, she   
disappeared in a flash of gray light.  
"You've sparked a plan in my mind, dear," he smiled. "We can take over all   
the compact discs of Tokyo."  
"Oooh!" she grinned. "Can we make people our mindless slaves?" Her green   
eyes flared with delight.  
"You took the words right out of my mouth," he grinned, and then stooped   
down to kiss her.  
************  
  
"I don't get it," Alice commented over lunch at school. "It's been nearly   
three weeks since Illness died..."  
"Time for another sleepover!" grinned Lyra happily. "This time, let's go to   
my place. It'll be..."  
Alice rolled her eyes. "As I was saying..." she continued warily, "we've   
hardly heard from the Raiders. I'm getting concerned."  
Leaning against the big oak tree, Tara sighed wistfully. "I'm sure it's not   
a big deal..."  
"Excuse me?" Alice questioned in shock. "Who are you and what did you do   
with PMS-ridden Tara Yuuichirou?" One of her auburn eyebrows shot up. "You can't   
possibly be her..."  
Lyra rolled her light brown eyes. "Lay off, Al," she retorted. "Her powers   
let her sense evil, remember?"  
"I don't sense anything, and I haven't in weeks," the Shinto declared   
causally. "Maybe we beat them..."  
A white and orange cat bounded up. "And maybe that's what they want us to   
think, Scouts," he commented, sitting in the center of the three girls.  
The trio jumped in startling synchronization as the young cat spoke. Despite  
his happiness to see the girls, Orb made a face. "Don't tell me you don't know how  
I am..."  
"Don't do that, Orb!" yelped Alice, calming back down. "You're bound to give  
me a heart attack!"  
"Pessimist," muttered the cat. "Now, girls-when are we going to have another  
strategic meeting?"  
The blonde shrugged and stuffed a few fries into her mouth. "I'm going to   
help Alice out after school with sewing today, but how does tomorrow sound?"  
Tara shrugged. "I'd like to do a fire reading, actually."  
"So you can screw it up again, Tara?" the older girl sarcastically asked.  
The ebony-haired girl made a face. "Leave me alone, Kino."  
Orb sighed and rolled his copper eyes. "Come on..."  
"But, to Alice's point," Lyra commented to no one in particular, "Tara's   
readings have yet to work."  
Blushing deeply, Tara focused on her green tea.  
Orb shrugged. "So what? Tomorrow afternoon at Cherry Hill Temple." He jumped  
up and into the tree's lowest branches. "I'll tell the others. See you later."  
Lyra shuddered. "And people wonder why I don't like cats," she mumbled   
sarcastically.  
Grinning, Tara sipped her drink. "I like him. Much more laid back than   
Diana..."  
Leaning forward, Alice felt the younger girl's head. "No fever... What's   
wrong with you?"  
Tara shrugged. "My mother just informed me that our temple is on the list of  
top twenty Shinto Shrines in the country."  
"Congratulations!" Lyra smiled, hugging her friend. "How great!"  
Smiling in pride, Tara blushed. "I thought so."  
Biting into her meatloaf sandwich, Alice shrugged. "Yeah, it does sound   
cool."  
The bell suddenly rang, and Alice grabbed her bags. "I got to jet. If I'm   
late to math again this week..." She grimaced. "Let's just say my Scouts skills   
will definitely be put to good use if I'm not careful! Bye!"  
"I have to go too," Tara said, picking up her book bag. "I may hate Modern   
History, but I have to attend class..." She smiled at the blonde. "We're talking   
about the Sailor Soldiers today, though."  
Lyra smiled back at her friend knowingly. "Great topic!" she responded with   
a wink. "Well, see you..."  
As they went their separate ways, a figure smiled from behind the bushes.  
"I didn't know that Lyra went to Crossroads," Richard thought aloud, smiling  
slyly. "I guess I'll just have to stop by at lunch tomorrow and say hello..." He   
bit his lip. "But why do those girls have such an obsession for Sailor Scouts?"   
Shrugging, Richard Umino started out for his next class.  
************  
  
Lita laid back on the brown couch with a smile. For the first time at   
'Jupiter's Delight', all three chefs and all twelve kitchen aides had arrived on   
time for work. And Lita... She got to go home early.  
"Alice will be so pleased!" the woman thought aloud, pulling the elastic   
band from her brown hair. "After all, I've been working a lot these past few   
weeks..."  
Suddenly, the bell to the apartment rang, startling her. Rightfully so,   
because it was noon and no one was supposed to be home at such ungodly hours of   
the day.  
Raising an eyebrow, she walked up to the door. "Who is it?" she cautiously   
asked, a hand on her Jupiter beads.   
A chuckled sounded from the other side. "I'll give you three guesses,   
Lita..."  
She smiled widely in recognition and bit her lip. "Hmmm... Tom Cruise?"  
"Nope." The voice was filled with laughter.  
"King Endymion?" she mocked, trying to sound serious.  
The voice sighed in disbelief. "I am MUCH cuter than your King, Lita."  
Lita shrugged, giggling. "Then... I give up." Opening the door, she feigned   
disappointment. "Oh... It's YOU..."  
He stood about four inches taller than her, at about six-foot-two. His   
auburn hair was rather messy and shaggy, as it had always been; the bangs hung in   
the twin chocolate eyes that were always smiling. The khakis were a bit too short,  
and the blue business shirt too tight, but he didn't seem to notice or care. The   
smile that was spread across his strong features was one of pure delight.  
"Hey, Lita!" he said, opening his arms. "I would think that you'd be a   
little bit happier to see me..."  
Accepting the hug, she found herself squealing as he whirled her around and   
picked her feet up off the floor. "Ken! It's been too long!"  
He nodded. "How long, though? Fifteen years or so?"  
Suddenly turning grim, Lita swallowed. "Yeah..."  
"Oh." He put her down.   
"Oh?" she responded, mocking his tone. "Don't start, Ken! If you don't want   
to be here, you can..."  
"Hey..." he responded, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Calm down, feisty   
girl. It wouldn't be smart to start a fight in your own apartment."  
As serious as he was, Lita forced a smile. "Sorry... I got a bit defensive   
there."  
Rolling his eyes, Ken looked at her. "A BIT defensive? Lita, you could make   
a ravenous viper look like a Moon Princess..."  
She wrapped her arms around him. "Sorry..."   
"What's wrong now?" he asked cautiously.  
She shrugged and looked up, into those eyes... The eyes that had always been  
there, protecting her from the scariest evil of all-herself.  
Lita bit back tears. "I had almost forgotten how much I love you..."  
"I love you too, Lita," he smiled, hugging her back. "As I said, it's been   
too long."  
"I said that!" she retorted, pulling away from the hug. She made a face.   
"Stealing my lines! What next?"  
He smiled slyly. "How about a kiss?" he coyly questioned.  
"Good a place as any..." she softly commented, allowing herself to be held   
by the strong arms of the man she loved...  
And to be swept away by a powerful kiss.  
************  
  
Swinging her legs mildly, Phoebe yawned and looked up from her seat to the   
class rank list.  
"Eighteenth..." she muttered calmly, glaring at the name 'Phoebe Urawa' with  
hatred. "Mom is not going to like this..."  
"Like what?" came a familiar voice.  
Sighing, Phoebe smoothed the pleats in her aqua-colored school skirt. "Oh,   
Haley..." she commented, turning her head to face her friend. "I'm eighteenth in   
the class..."  
Haley hushed a giggle and ran a hand absently through her hair. "That's out   
of all nine hundred of us at school," the girl responded. "I'm   
two-hundred-twenty-seventh."  
"Out of the whole school?" Phoebe's ice-colored eyes grew wide, and her   
thick braids threatened to stand straight up. "Holy crud!"  
Rolling her teal eyes, Haley smiled. "Feel better about yourself?"  
"Much!" Glancing at the ugly gold bow that was on the chest of her uniform,   
she made a horrendous face. "Who picks these colors?"  
"My parents!" Haley retorted, sticking out her tongue. "Don't diss the   
uniforms!"  
Phoebe jumped down and then gasped. "Oh! Guess what annoying orange cat I   
ran into at lunch!"   
"Orb was here?" Haley tried to hide the surprise in her voice. "There wasn't  
some sort of attack, was there?" she questioned, lowering her voice so the other   
passing students wouldn't hear.  
Phoebe negated it all with a shake of blue braids. "Nothing like that. We've  
got a meeting tomorrow at Tara's."  
"Great..." sighed Haley, kicking a stray pencil across the floor.   
"What?" her friend asked.  
The warning bell tolled loudly, signaling one minute until classes began.  
Haley rolled her eyes again. "Tell you later, because I've got art now.   
Bye!"  
"See you!" Phoebe yelled after her friend. Taking one last glance at the   
board, she grinned widely. "Eighteenth..."  
************  
  
"How's my favorite brother?" Terrence sashayed into the dining room of   
Crystal Palace with a bored yawn.   
Smiling, the King of the Earth nodded. "Sit down and eat with us."  
Serenity, meanwhile, was staring at the clock with an expression of   
exasperation across her pale face. "Where is that girl?" she asked rhetorically.   
"I have half a mind to send her to public school..."  
"Ouch!"   
Thump.   
"Jeez!"  
Clunk.  
"You're just like this girl I know named Serena..."  
"Diana, shut up!"   
Cradling her face in her hands, the Queen sighed deeply. "That's my   
daughter..." she mumbled.  
Trying not to laugh, Terrence watched in amazement as a blur of white silk   
and pink hair whizzed into the royal dining room. Panting, the blur landed in a   
chair and was revealed to be Princess Reeny. "Please...pass..." Reeny choked,   
sweat dripping down her face. "Water..."  
Handing his daughter a large glass of water, the King raised an eyebrow.   
"What in Heaven's name were you doing?" he asked, waiting for his lunch to be   
served.  
A snicker came from under the table. "Our Princess was playing 'Knights in   
Shining Armor' in the far library when I told her it was time for lunch. She had   
to run to her room, change, and then make it here..."  
"Knights in Shining Armor?" questioned the Queen, looking up.  
A pink cat jumped up onto the table. "Reeny," she giggled, looking at the   
Princess with her darkly rose eyes. "Why don't you explain to your parents what   
you were doing..."  
"Di..." the teen protested, glancing nervously at Terrence. "We have company  
that I don't know here..."  
Terrence smiled, green eyes glittering. "I'm no one special, Princess," he   
reassured. "Go right ahead and explain."  
Groaning, Reeny muttered something under her breath.  
"What?" questioned Endymion as a covered silver platter was laid before him.  
Rolling her scarlet eyes, Reeny sighed. "Knights in Shining Armor is when I  
go up on the reading balcony of the far library and I pretend to be a damsel in   
distress... And then my pretend knight rescues me..."  
Diana began laughing.   
Serenity rolled her azure eyes. "I see..." Looking at her platter, she   
shrugged the incident off and bowed her head. Clearing her throat, she folded her   
hands. "Our sustenance to remain on this Earth has arrived... Praise Serenity and   
the Moon for this meal."  
Raising a brown eyebrow, Terrence glanced at his sister-in-law as she raised  
her head. "Can I ask why you praise yourself?"  
From her seat on the windowsill, Luna smiled warmly. "Prince Terrence, all   
Lunatarian Queens since the beginning of time have been called Serenity..."  
Reeny choked on her macaroni and cheese. "Prince?" she gasped, choking down   
some water. "Who is this guy?"  
Looking at his daughter with thoughtful blue eyes, Endymion beamed kindly.   
"This is your uncle, Terrence."  
"UNCLE?" Her eyes growing wide, Reeny chewed her lip a bit."And since when   
do I have an uncle named Terrence?" she demanded.  
Luna sighed. "Since the beginning of time, little one."  
Artemis snorted from his seat on the other windowsill. "Give me a break,   
Luna... She hasn't been alive that long, and neither has Endymion..."  
"Close enough," Luna retorted, jumping down from her seat. "But a jerk like   
you wouldn't understand..."  
Artemis hissed and glared at her, lying back down with his fur on edge as   
she walked away.  
Ignoring the catfight, the Queen ate another forkful of macaroni. "Your   
father didn't know he had a brother until you had gone back to the future..."  
"The first time?" Reeny thoughtfully inquired.  
"Second time," Endymion returned. "I think..."  
Smiling gently at his young niece, Terrence pulled a yellow rose from his   
suit coat. "For you..."  
"Neat!" Reeny leaned across the table and tucked the rose into one of her   
buns. "It's really pretty," she blushed.  
Diana sniggered. "Flirt."  
"Shut up!" Throwing a fork at the cat, she stuck out her pink tongue.   
"You're just jealous."  
Smirking, the cat jumped off the table. "He's your uncle, Reen..." She   
giggled. "We call that incest..." She ran out of the room, laughing.  
The Princess growled once more and turned back to her lunch.  
Serenity sighed. "Home sweet home..." she mumbled, shaking her head.  
************  
  
"Your wonderful daughter is home, Mom!" Haley announced, dropping her   
backpack into the closet. "Aren't you glad to see me?"  
Michelle looked up from the booklet she was reading. "Oh... Hi, Haley. Go   
call your sister and Alex down here, will you?" she asked, distracted.  
Staring into the green eyes, she cocked her head. "Something wrong?" Haley   
urgently queried. "Don't tell me that you and Alex are getting a divorce..." She   
shuddered. The fights between her mothers had gotten worse in the past few   
weeks...  
Chuckling, the principal of Crystal Music Academy shook her head of aqua   
hair. "Nothing like that, Haley!" she responded. "Now, do I have to get up?"  
"No, Mom." Walking to the stairs, she cleared her throat.  
Michelle sighed in annoyance. "Not like..."  
"ALEX! HANNAH THE SNOB!" the girl screamed. "GET DOWN HERE!"  
"...that..." finished the Mistress of Neptune with a deep sigh.  
Thundering down the steps, the tall blond grinned. "Hi-ya, Kiddo." Alex   
ruffled the shaggy but short brown head of hair on her daughter. "What's new?"   
She plopped down on the couch next to Michelle.  
"I'm fine..."  
"Hannah the snob?" came a very angry voice. "What about stupid little Haley   
the pain?"   
Whirling around, the teen blushed. "Uh... Well..." Shrugging, Haley bowed.   
"How you doing, Hannah?"  
Hannah made a face and picked at the lint on her black pants. "I have   
studying to do, brat..." Lowering her purple eyes, she scowled. "Make this talk   
quick, Haley."  
"I want to talk," Michelle said with a grin.   
Wrapping an arm around the other woman, Alex beamed. "WE want to talk."   
"Wait..." Hannah bit her lip. "The last time you acting like this was right   
before Haley..." Her jaw dropped. "Oh my GOD."  
Haley gasped in delight. "Another little kid! Ooooh! I love babies!" Rubbing  
her hands together, she cracked her knuckles. "Boy or girl? Little or..."  
"Not that!" retorted Alex, making a face. "After dealing with two of you,   
we don't want a third!"  
Playfully hitting Alex in the stomach, Michelle shook her head. "What she   
MEANS is that we are content with the two wonderful girls we've raised..."  
"Who's the other?" inquired Haley with a snicker.  
"Haley..." warned Michelle.  
Alex sighed and bit her lip. "We've never gone away together..."  
"So what?" asked Hannah, pulling a book from the bookshelf. "A lot married   
  
couples only go away for their honeymoon, never again..."  
Both adults on the couch looked at the ground with a blush.  
"WHOA..." Haley gasped. "You guys aren't married?"  
"Not really..." Michelle admitted softly.  
Sighing, Alex fingered her gold earring. "We were talking about it, and then  
we had to become Scouts again and fight Sailor Galaxia..."  
"While raising me..." Hannah sighed, flipping through the book. "I never   
thought of that..."  
"Going away for a week will be good for us, though." Michelle smiled sadly.  
"We're going to Hawaii..."  
"YIPPEE!" screamed Haley, jumping up and dancing. "We're going to Hawaii...  
I've got to get a new bikini and some cool vacation clothes..."  
Alex gritted her teeth and gulped. "We're going alone..."  
"ALONE?" A horrified expression crossed her pale face. "Leaving me with   
Haley is no walk on the beach, Mother... it's a punishment worse than death   
itself!"  
The blonde buried her face in her hands to keep from laughing hilariously.   
"Didn't think of that one..."  
"It builds character!" Michelle retorted strongly, belting the giggling   
woman in the shoulder.   
Haley stuck out her tongue. "Mom, she's going to stuff her Silence Glaive in  
bad places if I'm not careful..."  
"Character." Alexandra smoothed the front of her gold business shirt.   
Rolling her purple eyes, Hannah rose. "I accept the... TORTURE... of being   
locked up with my annoying, rude, insane little Sailor Scout of a sister."   
Crossing her arms over the fuzzy green sweater, she made a face. "But I won't like  
it so much as one bit." She stalked out the front door.  
Haley jumped up off the floor and grinned evilly. "This will be a fun week!  
Thanks, Mom!"  
Watching in horror as the teen skipped upstairs, Michelle grimaced.   
"That went well," smirked Alexandra, running a hand through the other   
woman's teal hair thoughtfully.  
Leaning against Alex, Michelle shook her head. "Shut up..." she sighed.   
"Just shut up."  
************  
  
"So, anyway, I was thinking that you'd be better at doing a backpack than a   
quilt..." Lyra smiled as she and Alice ascended the steps towards the Kino   
apartment. "After all, you're rather... sorry... at sewing."   
The auburn haired girl shrugged. "Don't I know it!" she exclaimed, stuffing   
the keycard into the slit on the door. The little light flashed red. Reinserting   
the card, she pulled it out more quickly and jiggled the doorknob. Once again, the  
light was red.  
"Dammit!" she exclaimed, kicking the door with a brown hiking boot. "It's   
rejecting my card!"  
Lyra was extremely confused. "Can it do that?"  
Alice shrugged. "It can now."  
"Well, I have an idea all my own..." The blonde reached deeply into her   
backpack and pulled out a familiar light orange and gold colored disc. "Want me   
to try some locket power on it?"  
"If the stardust doesn't jam up the slit, sure," the other girl responded,   
leaning against the hallway wall. "Just don't get your hopes up, alright?"  
She shrugged. "My mom did this once, and it worked really well..." As she   
gripped the Locket of the North Star by its edge, two tan eyes slowly closed.   
"Polaris... Galactic... POWER!" she exclaimed, focusing all of her energy through   
the locket and into the lock.  
Alice watched in amazement as a tiny golden beam of stardust appeared and   
formed itself into a keycard all it's own. The dark blonde ponytail that Lyra wore  
her hair in was floating; some sort of invisible breeze flowed throughout the   
hall.  
The new card inserted itself into the lock, and the light promptly turned   
green. Grasping onto the doorknob, Lyra smiled and relaxed her tense form.  
"Success!" she smiled, turning to the other Scout. "Told you so."  
"I guess our powers are more numerous than even we know." Alice picked up   
her book bag off the ground. "I, personally, am glad to be home."  
Nothing could have prepared the two girls for what they set eyes upon as   
the Kino living room came into full view.  
The brown-haired woman, Lita Kino, was sitting on the couch...  
Kissing a man of the same age with what appeared to be a furious passion.  
Lyra glanced at Alice, who had a stunned look on her pale face. Not much   
upset the young Sailor Soldier... And when things did, all she had to do was to   
transform.  
"Should I go?" She ran a hand through blonde curls.  
She shook her straight tresses. "Not until I give you the say so..."   
Clearing her throat, Alice Kino took a deep breath. "Mother!" she exclaimed,   
dropping her over-sized bag of texts onto the floor. "What do you think you're   
doing?"  
Immediately, all motion on the couch stopped. A soft blush crept across   
Lita's cheeks as she pulled away from the man. "Uh... Hello, Alice... Lyra..."   
Staring at the floor, she bit a dark lip. "This is Ken, a childhood friend..."  
"Friend?" Alice raised an eyebrow scandalously. "You have an interesting   
definition of 'friend'..."  
Feeling a flush grace her features, Lyra scooped up her backpack. "I'm going  
to go, now..." she gulped, smiled politely and bowing a bit. "Nice to see you,   
Miss Kino... See you at school, Al..." She scurried out the door as quickly as   
her short legs could take her.  
The teen girl smirked. "Now, who the Hell is he?" she asked with a serious   
tone that betrayed her face. "And what exactly were you doing?"  
Lita rolled a pair of green eyes. "This is Ken. We grew up together..."  
Hugging the woman, Ken nodded. "Best buds since birth..."  
"And?" asked Alice, her face turning more serious by the second.   
"Well, no use dragging this out," Ken said, scooting away from Lita to make   
a space for the girl on the couch. "Sit down, Kiddo."  
Though she didn't really want to, Alice obeyed the pleading look on her   
mother's face.  
"We have a story to tell you," Lita slowly said, glancing to Ken for what   
seemed to be support. "And it all started when I was still a Scout..."  
************  
  
"Bye, Alex! See you in a week, Michelle!" Waving cheerily, Haley Ten'ou   
closed the screen door and watched as the black limo pulled out of the driveway   
and into the street.   
From her spot on the couch, Hannah surveyed her sister with a certain amount  
of tenderness. Maybe... maybe under that bratty exterior that was so repulsive,   
there was a sweet teen girl who wanted help with being a Sailor Scout.  
"So, Hannah," the teen smirked, turning on her heel to face the young woman.  
"Want to do some Role Playing? I've got a sixtieth-level wizard who's just DYING   
to have some good battles..."  
Or not.  
Rolling a pair of purple eyes, Hannah proceeded to walk over to the computer  
desk. "Thanks, but-no thanks."  
"Come on!" Haley whined persistently. Crossing into the other part of the   
'L' shaped room, she pouted. "You've always liked to do stuff like that with   
me..."  
"Times change, Haley." Pulling up her term paper, Hannah began to type. "And  
people most definitely change."  
"Yeah, I know... 'Times will change, and people will change, too'..."   
She plopped down at the dining room table with a sigh.   
Hannah looked up and to her sister. "Where'd you get that quote?" she   
suddenly asked, eyes wide.  
Furrowing her brow in the same manner that Alex often did, the younger girl   
shrugged. "Remember when I was in the pit for the last musical? It was in a song."  
"Oh..." Turning back to the computer screen, Hannah chewed her lip.  
"Why?" asked her sister.  
"Susan once said something like that to me..." she trailed off. "I believe   
she said 'things change, people change, but true love doesn't waver'."  
As though on cue, Sailor Pluto appeared in the kitchen and began searching   
through a cabinet.  
"Sailor Pluto?" asked Haley.  
"WHAT?" Her jaw dropping, Hannah whirled around.  
Pluto ignored the girls and kept looking through the cupboard, talking to   
herself. "Shit! Where the HELL do they keep the Pepto-Bismol?"  
"Upstairs in Michelle and Alex's bathroom," Hannah said helpfully, still   
staring at the Sailor Soldier who had manifested herself in the attached kitchen.  
The green haired woman nodded. "Thanks..." Freezing in place, she grinned   
sheepishly. "Um..." Looking over her shoulder, she allowed a light blush to appear  
on her face. "Hi girls..." Pluto turned completely around. "How are you two   
doing? And where in Time's name is Michelle and Alexandra?"  
"Not here!" Haley responded. "They went on a trip."  
"That was this week?" Pluto's voice was ridden with sarcasm. "Shit." She   
sighed deeply and started for the stairs.  
"Think again," Hannah said, slowly getting up. "I want to know what's going   
on." Her voice became very stubborn. "Now."  
Pluto once again froze in place. "Uhh... Can we please talk later?" she   
asked, turning in a slow circle. "I really don't want to..."  
Hannah shook her head, black hair whipping from side to side. "Nope. You can  
tell us now."  
"Or..."   
"Now." Leaving no room for negotiation, Hannah crossed her arms across her   
chest.   
From her seat, Haley stared at her aunt, noticing the one thing that her   
sister didn't-Sailor Pluto, the Guardian of Time, looked positively green.  
Pluto bit her lip. "I REALLY need that medicine, Han..." she attempted,   
looking extremely ill.   
"Well... Then go..." A bit of compassion graced the delicate features of   
Mistress Saturn. "After all, you live here-I will get it out of you..."  
Trailing off, Hannah looked doubtfully at the Sailor Soldier of Pluto and   
then at her sister...  
For Sailor Pluto had thrown up.  
************  
  
"One thing lead to another, and I realized I loved him with all my soul..."   
Lita chewed thoughtfully on her shrimp curry, looking to the daughter she loved   
so. "It was a hard thing to tell him..."  
Swallowing a mouthful of food, Ken shrugged. "I disagree. If you had seen   
her, Kiddo, you would have thought she was born to go through that..."  
The chestnut-headed woman shook a chopstick at him. "Shut up, you!"  
Giggling, Alice bit her lip in meditation. The past two hours had been   
nothing more than childhood anecdotes from the duo-Lita's stories were of   
tomboyish escapades, while Ken's had much more substance to them. The theme was   
obvious-the two were in a fit of passionate but hard-to-voice love. Neither could   
bring themselves to admit it... They wanted to be together forever, but something   
about it was too hard...  
"What's this all leading to?" the girl finally managed to ask, setting her   
carton of jasmine fried rice onto the coffee table. "Why did you guys bring this   
all up?"  
Lita and Ken stared at each other, exchanging ideas wordlessly. "Well..."   
Lita sighed. "That was a good fifteen-almost sixteen-years ago..."  
"And the gestation period of a Sailor Scout is only six months..." Ken   
looked extremely uncomfortable.   
Her jaw dropped, and all the color drained out of a young face as Alice   
heard these words. She would be sixteen in about eight months... That meant...  
"Oh my God..." she gasped, putting a hand up to her gaping mouth. "You..." L  
ooking at her loving, caring mother, she managed a swallow. "And you..." Staring   
into Ken's eyes, she was hit with a realization.  
The auburn hair.  
The chocolate eyes.  
Even the squared-off fingers...  
"Alice," Ken slowly said. "I've wanted to tell you this for a very long   
time, but..."  
"You're my..." She felt tears rising in her eyes. Something here wasn't   
right... This entire arrangement wasn't right. "You're my father?" she gasped,   
standing slowly. "The man that I've forever wanted to meet ignored me for fifteen   
years?" A tear rolled down her cheek.  
"It's not like that..." Lita assured her, pleading with the forest-colored   
eyes Alice knew so well. "After it all happened, Ken had to go work in the States   
and..."  
Stomping her foot, she glared into the chocolate eyes so akin to her own.   
"You left me alone." Her voice was not angry, just...sad and disappointed. "And   
worse..." Eyes turned towards Lita. "You left Mom alone." She wiped a few tears   
away as they rolled onto her chin.   
"Now, Alice..." Ken's deep voice was filled with regret and sorrow.   
She shook her head. "I can forgive you for ignoring me, but ignoring Mom?"   
Succumbing to her sobs, Alice took off for her room.  
Sheepishly, Ken patted Lita's hand. Her eyes were quickly filling with   
tears. Large, blue tears. And he couldn't help but feel empathy towards her.  
Taking the woman into his arms, Ken sighed. "Everything will work out alright...   
promise."  
************  
  
Lyra yawned and glanced around the schoolyard. "It's been a long day..." She  
commented to Tara while leafing through her book. "I have more homework than   
Phoebe EVER had while she was at Brighton, and then babysitting..."  
"Not to mention a Scout meeting," said an adult voice from above. Looking   
up, Lyra managed a wary smile.  
Tara sighed. "You shouldn't do that, Diana... You'll scare someone." Turning  
a page, she closed the book.   
Jumping from the tree and onto the blonde's shoulder, Diana shrugged. "Well,  
I don't want anyone forgetting about the meeting."  
"We won't," Lyra assured her.  
Glancing nonchalantly at her watch, the temple maiden made a face. "Well, I   
wouldn't be so sure..." she said sternly. "A certain Sailor of Light has already   
forgotten lunch..."  
"Go get her!" the pink cat commanded, digging her claws lightly into the   
white top of Crossroads' uniform. "I have to remind her, too!"  
Walking away from her friend, Lyra looked at the guardian with concern.   
"You seem on edge... Is everything alright, Diana?"  
The cat sighed, and then straightened up. "Fine," she reassured the girl   
with resolve. "Everything is perfectly fine."   
"I don't know about that," the girl returned. "You're not acting like   
yourself."  
Swallowing, Diana hastily changed the subject. "Have you any idea who that   
Starlit Prince is, yet?" she inquired, surveying the school's courtyard.   
"Am I supposed to?" responded Lyra. Seeing a familiar carrot-headed boy wave  
to her, she waved back happily. "And what's the big deal, anyway?"  
"The big deal?" asked Diana, angrily. "You're asking me what the 'big deal'  
is? Think about it! You guys are..."  
"Lyra?" She whirled around, seeing the same redhead with silver rimmed   
glasses and sapphire eyes. "I didn't know you went here!"  
"Oh, Richard, that WAS you!" she exclaimed, grinning. "Since when have you   
gone here?"  
He chuckled, his rich laugh soothing to the teen. "It seems like it's been   
eons, but since about sixth grade?"  
"Me too!" Blushing, she looked to the ground. "But, I'm just an   
ninth-grader, so what would I know..."  
"Since they combined the high-school with Crossroads, I've gone here. I'm a   
senior." He shifted the weight of his books from hand-to-hand.   
Hearing Alice's voice call out to her, Lyra snapped from her Richard-induced  
dream world long enough to recall her mission. "I have to go!" she yelped,   
smiling. "See you around?"  
"Definitely." He offered forth a hand. "Till then?"  
She shook it. "Till then!"  
As she walked away, Richard ruffled his own dark red hair. "I must be going   
nuts..." he said to himself, watching her curls bounce until she was out of sight.  
"I mean, how could a cat ever talk?" Shaking his head, he smiled thoughtfully.   
"And what is it about those cork-screw curls?"  
************  
  
Death hardly realized that someone had entered his office... In fact, he   
didn't notice at all.   
"So, Deathie, I'm bored."  
Jumping a mile into the air, he drew in a sharp breath. "Don't DO that!" he   
snapped, lowering his black eyes. "You scared me half to death!"  
Greed stuck out a crimson tongue. "That was an awful pun, sweetie."  
He sighed and turned back to his work. "Well, that was accidental." Pouring   
over a list of figures and numbers, he sighed deeply. "This can't be right..."  
"What?" she asked, craning her neck to see his papers.   
He sighed. "Well, according to this, the mind-control CDs aren't selling too  
well..." He sighed, pushing some hair out of his eyes. "We've only   
sold...oh...fifty CDs."  
Cocking her head to the side, her green eyes turned confused. "What type of   
CDs are you selling?"  
"It's by a band called the Unclothed Females or something..." He rummaged   
through the growing piles of paper that covered the mahogany desk. Finding the   
sheet of choice, he grinned. "Barenaked Ladies, that's it..."  
"Never heard of them," she sighed, plopping onto the desk's edge. "Are they   
from around here?"  
Death grimaced. "Well, it cost a lot to take a modern Japanese band and make  
their CDs into brain-washing tools of..."  
"So, what are you saying?" she asked curiously.   
He sighed deeply. "They're a twentieth-century band from United States."   
"Well, no WONDER they're selling like dead birds!" she retorted, rolling her  
eyes. "You'd have better luck selling mind-control canaries!"  
"Shut up..." he responded, beat.  
A pang of sympathy hit her. "I'm sorry, sweetie," she murmured, putting a   
strong hand on his shoulder. "I know that you want to do your best, but..." Trying  
not to snigger, she put on a mature face. "Maybe what we need is a good luck   
charm..."  
"You want to go shopping, don't you?" he sighed and then raised an eyebrow.  
"Never hurt?" she asked coyly. "I heard of this great temple that sells all   
sorts of cutesy luck charms..."  
Rolling a pair of black eyes, Death smiled and rose. "I could use a long   
break..."  
"Good!" she giggled, waving a hand. Her leather clothes turned into a teal   
and gold school uniform. "I'll be a student!"  
He sighed and, rubbing his hands together, created a portal to the Earth.   
"After you?" he politely asked, holding out an arm to her.  
"Thank you..."  
They stepped into the portal, and it closed behind them.  
************  
  
"Got to run!" Phoebe waved to a few of her peers and dove into the red   
convertible that Haley had driven to school.   
Haley laughed and her friend and stared the car. "Glad to see your grade   
disaster has improved in the last twenty-four hours..."  
"Of course it has!" Pulling a section of blue hair into a thick braid, she   
smiled. "My dad and Ames-the-Jerk were really proud!"  
Looking at the younger girl with thoughtful teal eyes, Haley bit her lip.   
"Why don't you get along with your mother?"  
Phoebe shrugged. "I don't know... She just wants me to be her and..."  
"I wonder why my family problems aren't like that..." Haley stared at the   
road in front of her. "Alex and Michelle are so proud of me for who I am..."  
"You don't know my mom very well, Haley..." Pulling out a book, Phoebe   
sighed. "It's just not the way of the Urawa family..."  
The rest of the ride was oddly silent.  
************  
  
"I'm going to stick around for a while, Lita..."  
Looking up from a stack of restaurant bills, her green eyes flickered upward  
and came to rest on Ken's masculine face. "What did you say?"  
Sitting down next to her, he took a soft hand into his. "I want to stay...   
I want to get to know Alice and become more of a father to her." He sighed,   
studying the woman's delicate facial features. "And I want to figure out if...   
If you and I should... For Alice's sake..."  
Smiling sadly, Lita shook her head. "I love you; you love me. Fine. But   
Alice is a girl who is not famously adaptable."  
"Just like another Scout I know," he joked, squeezing her hand.  
"That's not it, though," she continued solemnly. "I can't give up over a   
thousand years of complete independence."  
"Neither can I," Ken responded. "I'm glad we're agreed."  
Kissing him lightly on the cheek, Lita smiled. "But you're welcome to stay   
and get to know your daughter."  
"Don't you think it's strange, though?" he softly asked. "That we have a   
daughter and all?"  
"Ken, I don't think it's strange we have her," she smiled, thinking of her   
grinning child. "I'm grateful."  
************  
  
"The powers of Earth surround us..." Slowly clasping her hands together,   
Tara let her melodic voice break the heavy silence. "Fire of Earth, flare up in   
your magnificence... Embrace us with your magic..." She took a shuddering breath.   
"Reveal the identity of the Starlit Prince!"  
Gradually, the fire grew larger, fed by some invisible power. As the flames   
began to softly lick the ceiling, an image appeared in the center of the blaze.   
Sighing in defeat, each Scout watched in horror, as it was not an image of the   
Starlit Prince.  
It was quite a likeness to the courtyard of Crossroads School.  
Opening her green eyes, the Shinto girl let out a slow breath. "I'm sorry,"   
she softly said, a light blush creeping across her features. "I thought it would   
work this time..."  
Biting her lip, Alice held back a "told you so".  
Lyra managed a sympathetic smile. Playing with the hem of her skirt, she   
shrugged. "It's not all that big of a deal, Tara. You tried, and that's all that   
we should..."  
"No, it's not!" Diana jumped from Reeny's shoulder and sat in the middle of   
the fire room. "If we don't figure all this out, we might..."  
"What IS wrong with you?" the Princess demanded, furrowing her brows at the   
cat. Sighing, she looked to the others for support. "Diana's been acting funny all  
week. Something's bothering her, but she just WON'T spit it out..."  
"I noticed that at lunch today," the blonde Scout commented. "She was very   
cranky and bossy..."  
"HELLO?" The pink Guardian glared at her charges. "I'm right here! No need   
to talk like I'm DEAD or something!"  
Orb cocked his head at his sister. "Really, Diana, what's..."  
"NOTHING!" she shot back, glancing away to hide the tears that were   
manifesting. "So just keep your big nose out of my business!" Standing, the cat   
hastily walked out of the room.  
Phoebe blanched. "That was weird..."  
The brown haired girl in the corner suddenly cleared her throat. Looking at   
her friends, she chewed her lip thoughtfully. "I think that the fire reading my   
have given us more of a clue than we know," she said.  
"Huh?" Alice raised an eyebrow. "Are you kidding? It showed us a school..."  
"When we wanted the Prince," Haley finished, playing with her key chain.   
"If considered properly..."  
Tara's face brightened unexpectedly. "Perhaps the Prince goes to   
Crossroads!"  
Smiling, the eldest girl nodded. "Exactly."  
Alice wrinkled her nose. "I think you guys are off your rockers..."  
"Hello?" a new voice called from outside. "Is anyone here?"  
Standing, Tara brushed off her robes. "Excuse me. I think there's a   
customer at the temple. I'll be right back."  
************  
  
"Where is that girl?" Greed muttered impatiently, tapping her foot on the   
dusty ground.   
Death rolled his eyes for what seemed to be the hundredth time of the day.   
"What girl?"  
She made a face. "The girl who works at the temple... Black hair,   
red robes..."   
"That could be any of about three-hundred Shinto maidens in this town..."   
he sarcastically quipped with a grin.   
She punched him playfully in the stomach. "You be quiet!" the woman   
commanded with a scowl. "You're nothing be an annoying, sarcastic, mean, brat of   
a boyfriend who can..."  
"Sorry to keep you waiting," a young voice said. The pair turned, only to   
see an exceptionally tall girl with dark hair and green eyes staring at them. "I   
had business to attend." She bowed. "Welcome to Cherry Hill Temple."  
Greed grinned back. "Hi! We're interested a few good luck charms..."  
"Certainly." Ducking under the counter, her happy voice continued to flow   
through the temple grounds. "We have several different ones... Some for luck, or   
wealth, happiness, maybe love." She put a large box on the wooden shelf before   
her. "Now, which ones are you interested in?"  
While Greed sorted through the box, Death looked around the temple.   
Something was bothering him about the temple... Both the scenery and the building  
itself seemed so familiar...  
"Are you from Crystal Music Academy?" the girl carefully asked the consumer.  
"I have two friends who attend there, and they have uniforms just like yours."  
The young woman's pale skin turned scarlet. As she played with a strand of   
hair that had evaded her braid, she grinned hopefully. "Yep. I'm a senior..."  
"Really... Maybe you know them..." Turning her back to the Raider, the girl   
cleared her throat. "Haley, Phoebe! One of your classmates is here!"  
"Shit!" Death muttered, still studying the temple with rapt interest. "Why'd  
you say that?"  
Greed stuck out her tongue. "I didn't know better, you whiny-butt!" she   
retorted, annoyed. "Why don't we just beat them up and leave?"  
"Excuse me?" questioned the young maiden, raising an eyebrow. "Did I hear   
you right?"  
Death snapped his fingers, and he and Greed were instantly in their "Raider"  
clothing. He smiled, revealing white fangs. "My name is Death, and I am a Raider   
of the Andromeda Galaxy."  
"Ditto here, except I'm Greed, not him." Smoothing an area of leather, the   
female Raider shrugged playfully.   
Backing up, the teen grimaced notably. One of her hands quickly shot into a   
pocket as she dove under the counter.  
"HELP!"  
************  
  
"Does she want us out there or WHAT?" Alice groped through her backpack,   
searching for the ever-evasive Locket of Light.  
In a state of absolute panic, Orb growled. "I'm willing to bet money that   
there are Raiders lurking out there." He shivered. "I can FEEL it."  
"Well, what are we waiting for?" Phoebe raised her locket. "Phoenix   
Galactic..."  
"Wait." A shadowy figure appeared in the doorway. The person was tall, and   
most likely male.   
Staring, Reeny managed a gulp. "Uh... Who are you?"  
The shadow stepped forward and the girls recognized Chad Yuuichirou, Tara's   
father and the priest of the temple.  
"I don't want you five going out there and destroying things," he commanded   
in a calm tone. "That has happened far to many times in this temple, and..."  
Lyra bristled. "What do you expect us to do, Chad?" she challenged as a   
glare passed across her face. "She's our friend..."  
"Speak for yourself," mumbled Alice under her breath.  
Shooting the other girl a stern look, Lyra continued. "And we can't let her   
be in danger."  
"I know that," he admitted. "I am extremely proud that my daughter has found  
such wonderful friends in the five of you." He sighed, shaking his head a bit.   
"Just PLEASE don't hurt the temple."  
As Chad walked off, Reeny raised a blue eyebrow. "Weird guy," she ventured   
thoughtfully.  
"Oh well," Lyra put in. She raised her locket. "Polaris Galactic Power...   
Make up!"  
"Moon Galactic Power... Make up!"  
"Comet Galactic Power... Make up!"  
"Aurora Borealis Galactic Power... Make up!"  
"Phoenix Galactic Power... Make up!"  
************  
  
Glancing at the woman beside him, Terrence sighed. "You're being awfully   
quiet, dear one."  
Kicking a stone that sat before her, Susan bit her lip. "I'm just not   
feeling all that well." Looking over the calm waters of the pond, she wondered   
what the future held.  
"Really, Sets?" he softly inquired, wrapping a strong arm around her slender  
waist. "What's wrong?"  
Half-smiling at him, she played with a strand of green hair. "I just feel a  
little queasy," she assured him, leaning into the embrace.  
"Sure?" he prodded as a look of concern passing across his green eyes.  
Leaning down a bit, Susan kissed the tip of his nose. "I'm fine, Terry...   
Don't worry about me..."  
"I know you're perfectly capable of taking care of yourself," he pointed   
out, "but that doesn't mean I won't worry."  
She looked at him thoughtfully. "And why won't you?" she questioned with a   
bit of suspicion in her voice.  
"Simple, Sets," he mused with an mischievous grin. "I can't leave you alone   
when you like me so much."  
"What?" she repeated, staring at him with wide crimson eyes.   
"But that's okay," he continued, holding her closer to him. "Because I like   
you just as much."  
************  
  
Greed, pulling out her sword, sighed. "Come on, kid," she said, wiping the   
weapon on a black handkerchief. "Just let us beat you up and go back to our normal  
life."  
Death rolled his black eyes in slight annoyance. "Protocol," he muttered   
under his breath. "Protocol."  
"Oh, shut up!" she shot at him, lowering her green eyes while continuing to   
polish the sword. "You're so mean, you know that?"  
"You're just in a bad mood," Death insisted. "All because your disguise   
didn't work like..."  
Suddenly, five Sailor Scouts came running out of one of the temple   
buildings and into the line of Raider fire.   
"Stop!" Sailor Moon declared, pulling her Galactic Rod out of thin air.   
"I don't want to use this on you if I don't HAVE to!"  
Sailor Aurora Borealis adjusted her tiara, her fingers idly smoothing the   
dark blue stone. "Fighting evil by Moonlight," she muttered to herself, having   
lapsed into some sort of dream world.   
Ignoring the spaced-out Sailor next to her, Sailor Polaris glared at Greed.  
"We are the Sailor Scouts!"  
"We fight for justice and against evil!" added Sailor Phoenix, looking at   
Death with disdain and loathing.   
Death snorted. "I thought that justice and evil were the same thing..." he   
teased, mocking her. "My bad."  
Rolling her teal eyes, Sailor Comet turned to the group. "Can't we just kick  
their butts, rescue Tara, and go home?"  
Aurora Borealis, still a bit on the spacey side, walked to the front of the   
group. "Don't hurt my friends OR the bratty temple kid!" she commanded. "I'll beat  
your sorry ass to the floor, you..."  
"Go away," the black-garbed man responded, extending and hand and drawing a   
few symbols in the air. Suddenly, a black wind shot from Death's fingers. Picking   
up Aurora Borealis, the torrent threw her into the side of the temple.   
Greed sniggered at this occurrence and turned to the four remaining,   
devilish mischief flaring in her impossibly green eyes. "Do you all want to end up  
like that, brats?" The rhetorical question caught the Scouts off guard, and,   
considering this, all four stared at the young Raider.  
"We are the Raiders of the Andromeda Galaxy." Her tone was very   
matter-of-fact. "Illness' death cannot stop us, and neither can any dinky Silver   
Crystals, or..." Turning to Sailor Moon, she smiled. "Nor can any stupid Galactic   
Rods."  
Bristling at the word "stupid", Moon fought back the over-whelming urge to   
beat the woman senseless. "It's our world, not yours," she returned, voice cold   
and deliberate. "What makes this world so wonderful?"  
"Humans are weak." Death's strong voice picked up and echoed through the   
breeze that whirled about the temple grounds. "They are expendable. That, I'm   
afraid, will spark your demise."  
"Tell the Queen we said hi!" Greed told the Scouts, fading into oblivion.   
Death faded out to, with nothing more than a stern look across his pale   
face.  
"For a jerk," observed Sailor Moon, "that Death is really cute."  
Sailor Comet rolled her eyes and then remembered the fate of Aurora   
Borealis.  
"Alice!" she yelped, dashing over to where the fallen Scout was. "Alice! Are  
you alright?"  
The girl just groaned.  
Tara, who had just climbed out from under the counter, stared at the girls.  
"Take her pulse!" she ordered, running to where the others stood. "Call a doctor!"  
Seeing four Scouts stare at her in disbelief, the Shinto lowered her pair of  
green eyes. "What?" she bellowed grievously. "Do what I say... NOW!"  
The Scouts obeyed.  
************  
  
"Mother!" Diana raced through the halls of Crystal Palace, followed closely   
by Orb. Both cats had witnessed the fight and, more importantly, had heard Death   
and Greed's warning to the Scouts.  
Orb, panting but still trying to keep up with his sister, inhaled sharply.   
"Do you...think that...the Scouts will...lose if they're not...careful?" he   
attempted between labored breaths.   
"No. I think they'll only lose if we repeat that awful scene today." Diana   
picked up speed, starling a maid here and there by ducking under their legs.   
Both cats turned into the Queen's chambers at an incredible speed, paws   
nearly slipping on the smooth marble floor. "Mother! Father!" they echoed, running  
towards the cat bed where both elderly guardians spent a large amount of time.  
They heard the voices before they saw the sources.  
"What are we going to tell them?" asked a male voice that was strong and   
familiar.  
A sigh sounded. "The truth, I suppose," responded a voice with an British   
accent. "We can't possibly lie... They know us far too well."  
"So, then what do we say?" the male voice shot back angrily. "That we can no  
longer get along and because of you, I'm leaving my family?"  
"Good enough," the female spat. "Orb and Diana can deal with it."  
Diana's red eyes grew wide and she slowly turned to her brother. "They're   
talking about us?" she whispered.   
He nodded. "This can't be good..." he ventured.  
The pink cat stood tall and started to the source of the sound. "Mother?   
Father?"  
Luna and Artemis were sitting on the floor and Artemis looked positively   
ill. "Hello," the black female cat said in a hushed tone. "What's wrong?" she   
inquired upon seeing her daughter's face.   
"What were you and father talking about?" asked Orb, concerned.  
Artemis sighed. "Never mind that, Orb." His voice was wavering slightly, but  
the blue eyes remained firm. "What happened today? You both seem quite upset."  
"What is happening with you?" Diana challenged, glaring at him. "Enough with  
the lies! You have been fighting like cats and dogs lately, and I've put up with   
it." She sniffled a bit before continuing. "Even the Scouts have the capacity to   
know when something's wrong with me." She stared at her two parents. "What's wrong  
with you two?"  
Luna just shook her head. "Don't start, young lady. Some things are just not  
your business."  
"Not our business?" Suffering an uncharacteristic spree of anger, Orb stared  
at his mother. "You're our PARENTS!" he yelled at her with hostility in his voice.  
"You don't need to lie to us when something's wrong!"  
Artemis hung his head. "Right, Orb..."  
"Don't you start!" shot Luna as she lowered her auburn eyes. "They're wrong!  
Our business is ours!"  
"No, it's not," Artemis said gently, standing. "Our children are right.   
We've been too busy with our own problems that we've neglected to notice what we   
put our daughter through." He smiled. "I'm leaving, kids," he concluded softly,   
turning his back to the two younger cats.  
As he walked out the door, Artemis was suddenly grateful that no one could   
see his tears.  
************  
  
Mina was drying her hands as the doorbell rang.  
"That's odd," she thought aloud as she left the kitchen and started for the   
front door. "Andrew isn't to be home until five, and Lyra is at the temple..."   
Shrugging, she opened the door.  
Sitting on a the garbage can that was next to the house was a very familiar   
white cat.  
"Mina..." Artemis softly uttered, a tear rolling down his white fur. "Can I   
come in?"  
Nodding, Mistress Venus opened the door.  
************  
  
"Is she alright?" Ken was frantic as Phoebe and Haley helped the hobbling   
Alice into the apartment.  
Alice rolled her chocolate eyes. "Relax, Dad," she stated, hopping on one   
foot. "I got knocked into a wall and then fainted." She shrugged. "Fight lag mixed  
with getting beaten up... Not fun."  
Lita crossed her arms. "I knew that I shouldn't have let you go out today!"   
she exclaimed with frustration in her voice. "You got into a fight!"  
"Like a certain Planet Mistress I know," joked Reeny, her scarlet eyes   
dancing.   
Smacking the Princess upside the head, Lyra grinned. "Her ankle's sprained,   
according to Mistress Mercury."  
"Amy?" questioned a shocked Ken.  
"No, Serena," answered Lita with obvious sarcasm. "Of course Amy, stupid."  
Ken smiled politely at Phoebe. "And you must be her daughter."  
The midnight blue haired girl grinned back, curtseying.  
"Actually," pointed out Tara, "we're all daughters of the original Scouts."  
The other five girls nodded in agreement.  
"You see?" observed Lita with a customary wink. "We're not the only ones."  
Lyra gasped. Staring wide-eyed at the brown haired mistress, she gulped.   
"You mean that... He and you... Alice, Ken's your...uhh," she stammered, playing   
with a stray hair.  
"Yes," Alice volunteered. "And yes. And..."  
"Duh." Sighing, Haley shook her head. "Alice called him 'dad' just a matter   
of minutes ago."  
"So?" retorted Phoebe, sticking out her tongue. "I call Orb 'stupid head   
pet cat'. That doesn't mean..."  
"What did happen to the cats?" interrupted Tara, a sudden and concerned look  
crossing her pale face. "Neither of them were around when we untransformed."  
"They're all SCOUTS, too?" Ken was astounded.   
From her seat on the couch, Alice smacked her dad. "Go find them," she   
proposed to the five teens. "I'll be fine."  
"You sure?" questioned Haley.   
"Yes!" the auburn-headed girl declared. "And I'm sure Greed and Death have   
a plan up their sleeves. They left awfully quick."  
"That IS kind of fishy..." Phoebe noted.  
"Yeah," agreed Reeny, fingering the locket around her neck.   
As the Scouts filed out of her apartment, Alice grabbed a fistful of Tara's   
robes. "Tara?"   
"Hmmm?" responded the girl, looking down at the older girl.  
Alice smiled weakly. "I know that you were the one who... Who got them to   
call a doctor." Reaching for the Shinto's hand and squeezing it, she blinked back   
tears.   
Tara gulped and her green eyes grew wide. "It... it wasn't anything..." she   
stuttered. "You would do the same for me..."  
"Tara, shut up and listen," Alice demanded with appreciation in her voice.   
"I just want to tell you one thing."  
"What's that?" she asked.  
"Thank you."  
************  
  
"Lyra?" The voice came from the side of her big white house.   
Jumping a mile, Lyra Makoti peered carefully around the bushes to the source  
of the sound.  
"Dad?" Her light brown eyes grew wide.  
Putting a finger to his lips, Andrew smiled sadly at his daughter. "Can I   
talk to you?" he whispered.  
She nodded. "What's wrong..."  
"I... Uhh... Have you seen Mistress Mercury lately?" he asked.  
"For five minutes today," Lyra returned, completely baffled. "What ARE you   
talking about?"  
"I quit my job at the hospital today," he softly informed her.  
"YOU WHAT?"  
He glared at her. "Not so loud, Lyra!"  
"You what?" she repeated in shock.   
He sighed. "I had no choice, Star." Seeing her eyes turn confused again,   
Andrew chewed his lower lip. "I like being a doctor, but I like being myself   
better."  
"Lost me again," she commented.  
He shrugged. "I don't know what it is about being a surgeon," he admitted.   
"When I worked with Darien..."  
"Darien?" repeated the girl, growing more confused.  
Andrew rolled his eyes. "Endymion. Whatever his name is. The King." Lyra's   
pale face dawned in understanding. "He and I used to work together, but when he   
took the throne, I..."  
"Lost a part of you." Appearing from the front of the house, Mina smiled at   
her husband and oldest daughter. "That's what you've been trying to tell me, isn't  
it?"  
"Yeah..." he sighed, standing. "Without Darien by my side, I feel like an   
actor."  
Lyra looked up at her parents. "Is this one of those times that I should go   
baby-sit?"  
"No." Her mother put a loving hand on her shoulder. "Your dad trusts you a   
lot. You know that, right?"  
"Right," Lyra nodded with a grin.   
"And you've only been fighting evil for a month and a half, right?" Mina   
continued.  
"Right!" The girl's smile grew.  
Andrew shook his head. "Wrong." His voice was understanding. "I realize what  
she means. Do you?"  
"No..." admitted Lyra with a sigh of defeat.  
Mina put an arm around her daughter. "We all fight certain evils,   
certain...demons, to say...on the inside. Your father just beat one." The Mistress  
of Venus grinned. "And you've beaten them, too."  
Looking at his wife in shock, Andrew gasped. "You mean I'm NOT in trouble?"   
he inquired.  
"Nope." Mina smiled warmly. "You're off the hook."  
Lyra looked at her two parents, still a little confused. "Destiny changes   
everything, doesn't it?"  
Smiling, the blonde woman shrugged. "If so, I think it's for the better."   
Turning back into Mina-the-warden, she cracked her knuckled. "Go call one of the   
Scouts. Artemis needs a place to stay, and Bobby is in there, sneezing himself   
half to death."  
Lyra automatically obeyed.  
"You're not mad?" asked Andrew tenderly.  
"Why would I be?" she retorted, wrapping her arms around his neck. "You did   
what you felt was right. I can't disagree..." Kissing him on the cheek, Mina led   
her husband inside.  
************  
  
Staring at her sister, Haley smiled.  
Hannah's jet-black hair was pulled into a ponytail, with a few strands   
trailing alongside her face. Black glasses sat on the tip of her nose as she   
poured over her texts on anatomy. Her too-big blue slippers were half-off her   
feet, and her beaten sweatshirt from college was on inside out. Haley nearly   
laughed at the sight of it all.  
Was being home-alone-with Hannah really changing her perspective that much?   
Haley didn't know, but the mere thought forced a goofy grin to cross her face.   
Looking up, Hannah saw her sister smile.  
"When did you get home?" asked the Mistress of Saturn, closing her book   
slowly. "I would have assumed your meeting to be longer."  
"I just stopped in," Haley shrugged, yawning a bit. "No one can find the   
guardian cats, so I was going to check with Susan..."  
Shaking her head, Hannah rose. "Susan went out over an hour ago, and I'm   
beginning to worry." The woman sighed. "She's been going out a lot, and she got   
sick again this morning."  
"Oh dear," Haley commented.  
"I know," her sister went on, brushing hair out of her face. "It isn't like   
Susan to disappear..." Stopping, Hannah gasped. One of her hands flew to her   
bracelet of navy and dark purple beads. "Shit! A Mistress transformed!"  
"Huh?" asked Haley, confused.  
Shaking her head, Hannah pulled the beads off her wrist. "Transform now, ask  
questions later."  
"Fine." The teen grabbed her locket. "Comet Galactic Power... Make up!"  
"Saturn Eternal Power... Make up!"  
************  
  
"Next time I go shopping," observed Mistress Mercury with a deep sigh, "I   
don't bring the beads." Quickly diving to the floor, Mercury watched in horror as   
Greed's sword slashed through the CD rack beside her.  
Clambering to her feet, Mercury held the blue dress to knee level and went   
running through the Best Buy. Both Greed and Death followed her, yelling all the   
way.  
"Come on, Mistress," Greed called. "We won't hurt you..."  
"She's right!" Death agreed wickedly. "Sucking your powers dry won't even   
sting."  
Launching herself to the top of a shelving unit, Mercury kept running.   
"Mercury Mistress Power!" she yelled. "Free these CDs from their powers!"  
A black shadow arose from a box of CDs, and several people who had been   
listening to them collapsed.   
"How'd you know about our mind-control plot?" Greed asked, amazed.  
Mercury smirked. "That's the oldest trick in the book..." She shrugged.   
"I've been fighting Nega-slaves since... Oh, my..." Her dark blue eyes flew beyond  
the Raiders to something else.  
Death whirled around and came face-to-face with a giant black shadow.   
"Shit..."  
"Unexpected and negative consequence of our actions," Greed innocently told   
the Planet Mistress. "Have fun."  
Both Raiders disappeared.  
As they left, Sailor Comet and Mistress Saturn ran into the store. Saturn's   
dress was sleeveless, with purple and navy fabric. Wielding the Silence Glaive,   
she looked quite adult.  
Mercury smiled, jumping to the floor. Good old Saturn.  
Comet yawned at the monster. "Wow. I thought bad guys stopped using these   
way back in your time."  
"Shut up," sighed Saturn, twirling her Glaive. "I need to figure out this   
thing.  
"May I be of some assistance?" Mercury asked, smoothing her light-blue   
Mistress gown. "I have my computer with me."  
Turning her head, Saturn grinned. "Of course, Mercury."  
The older Mistress turned on her computer and proceeded to scan the monster.  
"Are the others coming?" asked a curious Comet.  
Saturn shrugged. "Their beads will warm up. They're likely to at least know   
something's wrong."  
Typing, Mercury sighed. "There were two odd characters here, giving out   
mind-control CDs."  
"My, isn't THAT original," chimed in Sailor Earth as she and Polaris jumped   
down from the skylight of the store.  
Watching the monster break a few large racks of video games, the blonde   
Scout jumped behind her best friend. "Let's just go..."  
"You're superstitious, aren't you?" asked a smiling Comet.  
"A little," admitted Polaris.  
"She's afraid of Crystal Palace and black cats." Mistress Venus appeared,   
an array of hearts and stars swirling around her. "Silly girl."  
"Stop making such an entrance," Saturn chided, bristling. "You want to   
attract the monster?"  
"What monster?" Venus asked. Turning around, she gasped. "Oh, dear..."  
The monster was black and probably ten feet tall. Looking like a cross   
between a shadow and a demon, it thrashed throughout the store with little regard.  
Grimacing, Mercury closed her computer and allowed it to disappear as in   
often did. "It's only weak spot in right in the center of the head," she softly   
informed the group. "And we have no way of..."  
"May I aid you?" came a decidedly male voice.  
Three Planet Mistresses and three Sailor Scouts, all quite mismatched,   
turned to face a young man.  
A young man wearing a tuxedo, top hat, purple cape and ballroom mask.  
"The Starlit Prince!" exclaimed Comet.  
Earth rolled her eyes. "Not again..."  
The Prince bowed. "I may be able to hit the monster in its weak spot with my  
rose." Taking a purple flower from the lapel of his coat, he smiled. "Would you   
like me to?"  
"Please!" announced Venus, glancing at the store's large clock. "I left a   
pot of Ramen on the stove."  
Polaris rolled her eyes and then took a mental inventory.  
"Where's Chibi-Star?" she asked, confused.  
"Who?" echoed the three Mistresses, confounded.   
The Prince shrugged. "I know not. I could not find her, as expected." He   
cracked his knuckles, beginning to aim his rose.  
Earth and Comet readied themselves. If the rose met its target, they would   
be in for a fierce battle.  
Polaris, on the other hand, sighed. Feeling some sort of bond to the   
munchkin who was Chibi-Star, she was worried. Quite worried, to be honest.  
A scream was heard, and it snapped the Scout back to reality. The rose had   
hit its mark.  
"Earthly Thunderstorm..."  
"Comet Crater..."  
"Starry Sky..."  
Three voices joined to finish three separate attacks.  
"STRIKE!"  
"CLOSE!"  
"SMASH!"  
Lightning, rain, and hail pummeled the monster.  
A hole opened up in the ground and swallowed its bottom half.  
Stardust formed a ball and crushed the dark monster.  
When the dust cleared, peace had been restored.  
"Finally," Venus sighed, yawning. "I have dinner to make." Glancing at   
Polaris, she smiled sternly. "Be home in half an hour."  
As the swirl of hearts and stars resumed, Polaris shook her head.  
The Scouts started on their separate ways, waving their good-byes and the   
Prince, now forgotten, leaped onto a shelf. The absence of Chibi-Star was   
unsettling. Without her at the battle, he worried.   
"She's a little kid!" he told himself. "I shouldn't be protecting her like I  
am!" Sighing, he bit his lip. "But, Polaris feels that same bond... How odd..."   
He shrugged and started home.  
************  
  
Sailor Chibi-Star watched from the roof of Best Buy as the Starlit Prince   
ran from the scene.  
"That was a dirty trick," she scolded herself with an impish grin. "Mama   
would NOT be pleased."   
Sighing, she smoothed the pleaded purple skirt that helped represent being a  
Sailor Scout. "But maybe Papa would. He knows that I'm a Scout..." she swallowed   
hard. "It's not my fault that no one ELSE does..."  
Fingering the purple and yellow locket that held her yellow bow on, her   
sighed again. The Locket of Small Stars had two stars depicted on it... One was   
large and purple, and within it was a tiny, sparkling yellow star.  
Her.  
Sailor Chibi-Star ran her fingers over it one last time and started home.  
************  
  
"I'm sorry you had to take me in," the white cat apologized.  
Lita shrugged. "No bother, Artemis."  
Between sneezes, Ken voiced his own opinion. "I...ACHOO...am severely   
allergic...ACHOO...to cats, Lita...ACHOO!" he sneezed.  
Alice giggled and stroked the cat's smooth fur. "You're so warm," she noted  
lovingly. "I've always wanted a pet." Touching the gold moon crest on his   
forehead, she felt a current of power surge through her. "Besides, you're a   
guardian."  
"Ex-guardian," the cat corrected. "But that's too long a story."  
"You guys...ACHOO!" Ken sneezed. "Are you...ACHOO...nuts? I   
am...ACHOO...allergic!" Holding a handkerchief to his face, he lowered his   
chocolate eyes.  
Lita sighed. "Don't whine so much! I'll call Amy in the morning and get you   
some medication!" she snapped, rolling her eyes. "You can go back to the States   
if you're going to keep this up!"  
"I have...ACHOO...half a mind to...ACHOO...do just that!" he retorted in   
annoyance.  
Hobbling over him onto her good ankle, Alice dove into her father's lap.   
"Dad! You can't leave!" she protested, tears coming to her eyes at a rapid pace.   
"Please!"  
He hugged her and gave up.  
From her spot in the kitchen, Lita smiled to herself. Things were working   
alright, after all...  
************  
  
Greed rolled over and kissed the top of Death's head. "See you in the   
morning, love," she smiled, nestling close to him.   
He smiled warily at her. "Of course, dear," he responded, listening to her   
soft breaths as she fell into the vast dream world that was sleep.  
And, through the window, Death could see the glowing sphere that was Earth.  
************  
  
"Welcome home, Mom!" Haley wrapped her arms around Michelle. "I'm sorry you   
cut your trip three days short for us."  
Alexandra threw her suitcase on the couch. "Hawaii doesn't have any   
drag-racing courses, anyway."  
Hannah made a face and took her turn to hug Michelle. "We missed you," she   
softly said.  
Michelle smiled at her daughters. "And we missed you." Detaching herself   
from Hannah's grasp, Michelle looked curiously at the two girls. "Now, what   
exactly happened? Our beads got warm."  
The sisters smiled at each other. "Just a battle," volunteered Haley.  
"But we took care of it," added Hannah.  
Alex and Michelle looked doubtfully at one another.  
"You worked TOGETHER?" Alex smirked. "Did Hell freeze over while your mother  
and I were lounging on the beach, absolutely bored to death?"  
The brown haired teen shrugged. "You could say that," she winked.  
Hannah just smiled back.  
************  
  
"And I've felt positively awful for a few days." Susan tore a little slit in  
her paper gown. "What's wrong with me?"  
Amy Urawa glanced over Susan's large stack of papers that had accumulated   
during centuries past. "Well, I don't think you're sick," she calmly said, staring  
at the test results before her.  
Susan raised an eyebrow. "Amy," she began, "I have been throwing up,   
nauseated, and without an appetite for days!" She made a grievous face. "Terrence  
is nearly beside himself because I refused dinner at..."  
"Terrence?" Amy stared blankly at her.  
Rolling her garnet eyes, Susan pounded her fist on the hospital bed. "Is   
there an echo in here?"   
Amy picked up the phone. "Can you run one more test? Yes, that's the one.   
Thanks." Hanging it up, the blue haired doctor turned to the Guardian of Time.   
"Who's Terrence?"  
"A friend," Susan responded. Seeing Amy's expression, she blushed. "My   
boyfriend..."  
Amy nodded. "That could explain a lot of things, Susan..."  
All the color drained out of Susan's face. "Are you implying what I think   
you're..."  
The phone rang, cutting the young woman off. Picking it up, the doctor   
grabbed a pen. "Mmm-hmm... Thank you. Yes, please do." Hanging the phone back up,   
Amy bit her lip and swallowed hard.  
"I didn't think you were sick," she slowly said, idly running a hand through  
her hair. "And indeed, you're not..."  
Feeling her hands grow cold, Susan shut her eyes.  
"You're pregnant."  
************  
  
Galactic Sailor Say!  
  
Chibi-Star: Today, we learned that I played a nasty, nasty trick on the Starlit   
Prince. And it was fun!  
  
Tara: (walking into the scene) But playing tricks on people isn't very nice.  
  
Alice: (entering) We also learned that I actually do have a dad, and that he loves  
me VERY much.  
  
Tara: (sniggers) Yeah, Al... He loves you so much, he left you for fifteen years.  
  
(Alice chases Tara offscreen)  
  
Chibi-Star: We also learned that Hannah and Haley can get along if they really,   
really try!  
  
Phoebe: (entering) We also learned that I didn't get much screen time this   
episode.  
  
Haley: (entering) But you get all next episode to focus on YOUR family problems!  
  
Phoebe: Don't ruin the plot!  
  
Haley: It's already a fudging cliffhanger!   
  
(Both exist in different directions)   
  
Chibi-Star: But, most importantly, we learned that Orb and Diana will have to   
manage without their parents. This happens in real life, too.  
  
Orb: (entering) That's right. Not all families are forever. Remember that.  
  
Luna: (offscreen) Orb! Did you wash behind your ears?  
  
Orb: (making a face) But mothers, sadly, are a far different story.  
  
Chibi-Star: Sailor Chibi-Star says...  
  
ALL CHARACTERS: SEE YA!  
  
-I Know-  
Look around...  
(Tara, sitting next to Queen Serenity, stares up at the night sky)  
So many things aren't clear...  
(Phoebe looks blankly at a math book)  
Don't worry, though...  
(Lyra smiles while picking up her tuba)  
You know that I'll be there...  
(Sailor Pluto and Haley smile knowingly at each other)  
A lot of things are so uncertain...  
(Alice looks sadly at a clock while the sun sets over Crystal Tokyo)  
The future's on its way...  
(Reeny holds the Locket of the Moon, smiling)  
Look at my crying eyes...  
(Luna and Artemis console an upset Diana)  
Don't take your love away!  
(Hannah sighs, looking at a sleeping Haley)  
  
Sometimes, the road looks long...  
(Mina looks at her children with Andrew behind her)  
And sometimes, the world seems wrong...  
(Alex and Michelle smile at one another and then blush deeply)  
But I know, I know, all you need is love.  
(The six girls, untransformed, hold their lockets high)  
  
Sometimes, you feel weak...  
(Lita smoothes the hair of a crying Alice)  
And sometimes, the future looks bleak...  
(Raye and Chad stand behind Tara, who is staring at her locket)  
But I know, I know, all you need is love.  
(The six Galactic Sailors stand in a half circle)  
  
Times will change...  
(Amy looks out of a window and at Crystal Palace)  
People will change, too...  
(Endymion looks at Serenity, who is pouring over a book)  
But deep inside...  
(Lyra hugs Celeste)  
I always will love you...  
(Diana falls asleep on Reeny's lap)  
I suppose there are questions now...  
(Alice and Phoebe stare blankly at one another)  
The answers are so far...  
(Michelle stands in front of the orchestra, talking)  
But look at me and smile now...  
(Tara lovingly hugs her father)  
I am your guiding star!  
(Haley smiles at a studying Hannah)  
  
Sometimes, the road looks long...  
(Mina looks at her children with Andrew behind her)  
And sometimes, the world seems wrong...  
(Alex and Michelle smile at one another and then blush deeply)  
But I know, I know, all you need is love.  
(The six girls, untransformed, hold their lockets high)  
  
Sometimes, you feel weak...  
(Lita smoothes the hair of a crying Alice)  
And sometimes, the future looks bleak...  
(Raye and Chad stand behind Tara, who is staring at her locket)  
But I know, I know, all you need is love.  
(The six Galactic Sailors stand in a half circle)  
  
I know...  
(The Planet Mistresses stand in a circle)  
I know...  
(The Galactic Sailors stand in a circle)  
All you need is love...  
(The Mistresses and Sailors all stand together, holding hands, with their eyes   
closed)  
All you need...is...love...  
(A single purple rose sits in a vase)  
************  
  
Thus ends another exciting installment of the Galactic Sailors. (cheering) Next   
comes story 5, which may be a bit more comical than the others. Do not fear,   
though... It shall come.  
Yours truly,  
Kate (duncan@chicago.avenew.com)  
Christina (ladybug142@aol.com)  
  



	5. Ideas, Chances, and Wonders

Ideas, Chances, and Wonders  
  
Author's Ramblings: (in stereo, no less) We're here! Again! Number five! A story   
to be loved and appreciated from this very moment on. Yippee for us! Yippee for   
SM! Yippee in general!  
DISCLAIMER OF THE DAY: It's like this: Sailor Moon ain't ours. Sailor Moon belongs  
to a whole lot of people. Them people ain't us.   
************  
  
THE STORY SO FAR:   
Lita's 'old friend' Ken showed up and was revealed as Alice's father. Reeny   
met Terrence for the first time. Andrew quit his job. Greed and Death's plan   
didn't work. Haley and Hannah survived a week together.   
  
And that, my friends, is where the story begins...  
************  
  
Susan gulped and felt herself sway backwards a bit. Bound and determined not  
to faint, she opened a single ruby eye and looked at the Mistress of Mercury.  
Through blue-rimmed glasses, two navy eyes stared in concern at the Guardian   
of Time. "Susan?"  
"Did you say what... what I think you said?" asked the woman, already   
knowing the answer.  
Amy nodded in affirmation. "You're pregnant, Susan."  
Clenching her smooth hands to fists, Susan Meiou looked to her friend and   
fellow Planet Mistress. "Are you completely SURE?"   
"Yes. This test was perfected years ago..." Trailing off, she began   
scrawling information down onto a blank chart.   
Biting a scarlet lip, Susan lapsed off into a sort of dream world. What   
would Terrence think? And Alexandra and Michelle... how would they react? Hannah,   
Haley, Neo-Queen Serenity, King Endymion, and all the other Mistresses... What   
would this new information do to them? Would they be shocked, pleased, confused...  
what?  
"Amy, can I ask you something?" she meekly asked.  
"Anything, Susan," the doctor responded. "You know that I'll be there for   
you."  
Susan nodded in agreement and gulped. "Could you be my doctor?"  
Beaming at this, Amy took one of Susan's hands and squeezed it. "I've done   
the same for every other Mistress... and I was just waiting for the day when it   
would be my turn to help you..." Looking at the wall clock, she let the hand go   
and turned back to the charts. "It's getting late. Why don't you go on home? I'll   
arrange some sort of appointment for you."  
Susan nodded and started towards the door. Just as her hand was about to   
touch the doorknob, she turned back to look at Amy, pouring over charts and   
writing recommendations and the whatnot.  
"Amy?"  
The doctor raised her head of blue hair, and her eyes fell on Susan's face.  
"Thank you, Ames."  
************  
  
Diana walked slowly down the halls of Crystal Palace, sad.  
Her father had actually left.  
No one knew where he was, though Serenity suspected him to be at one of the   
Mistress' homes.   
That was no comfort to the young guardian cat.  
"How am I supposed to function without my parents?" she asked herself, near   
tears. "Me and Orb are not ready! And we'll never be!"  
"Maybe we will..." Smiling, Orb jumped off a windowsill and joined his   
sister in her walk. "Why are you so worried?"  
Diana sighed. "I'm afraid... I don't want the Scouts to get hurt..."  
"They won't," Orb reassured her, smiling sadly. "We'll figure it out, just   
like Mom and Dad did... And, besides, we've still got Mom." He winked, like   
Artemis had a habit of doing. "And she was the better of the guardians."  
For the first time in what seemed to be days, Diana laughed.  
************  
  
Dancing in the cool, crisp fall breeze, a few leaves flew into Tara's raven   
hair. Leaning up against a tree, the thirteen-year-old took a short break from   
raking up leaves to reflect on the past weeks.  
It had been almost two months since she had been handed the green and tan   
Locket of Earth.  
And it had been a good month since Illness had died at the hands of all six   
Sailor Scouts.  
And exactly one week had passed since the defeat of a black shadow monster   
at the Best Buy.   
"What next?" asked the girl softly, breathing in the rich scent of October.   
"I've fought evil several times, and though it's quite an accomplishment... I feel   
that it is more of a study in destiny..."  
One stray rose petal from somewhere unseen floated into the courtyard and   
landed at Tara's feet. Blood red and seemingly made of molten silk, it sat before   
her.  
She picked it up, smoothing the petal between her fingertips.   
"Something is going to happen," she commented, throwing the partial bloom   
back into the sky. "I know it is." As the petal flew out of view she smiled.   
"And it's going to be good."  
************  
  
"We don't have that kind of money laying around, Alexandra!"   
"That's what you say, but what about all the prize money I won last year?"  
"Whose bright idea was it to put the winnings into stocks and bonds?"  
"Michelle, you're not even listening!"  
Gritting her teeth, Susan reached for the doorknob of Michelle's home   
office. It was obviously a bad time, but what time would be better? After all,   
she had been sick with guilt for days about the pregnancy.  
The baby... Susan idly touched her stomach. What would they say? And   
Terrence...  
It was definitely a good time.  
"Alex? Michelle?" she called, rapping lightly on the door. "Can I talk to   
you guys?"  
She heard rustling. "Come on in, Susan."  
Susan gulped and pushed open the door, revealing the organized office.   
Everything was bright and airy, and a large fish tank sat in one corner, creating   
a pleasant gurgling sound. Smiling despite herself, she swept her hair to the side  
and sat in a chair.  
"You were arguing again."  
Michelle blushed scarlet and continued sorting through papers while   
Alexandra ran a hand through her hair, a look of guilt on her face.   
The Guardian of Time shrugged. "It's nothing to me. But why do you guys   
fight?"  
"Because we're an old couple," Alex attempted, a rather fake smile crossing   
her face. "That's what we're supposed to do. After all, two millennia of..."  
"When people love each other, sometimes, they just do." Michelle interrupted  
and looked at her friend with a thoughtful gleam in her green eyes. "Love is a   
funny thing, Suse."  
"Don't I know it?" Susan agreed, chewing thoughtfully on her lower lip.   
Alexandra glanced at the green-haired woman and furrowed her brow. "What in   
Heaven's name are you talking about, Susan?"  
Sighing, Susan took a deep breath. "I have quite a story to tell you two."  
************  
  
Somewhere in the Galaxy, there was a great black ship. And in the ship were   
four warriors and their king, each more deadly and terrifying than the last.  
"Your Majesty," said a man in black, bowing deeply. "How may we serve you?"  
The king, a solemn and bitter looking ruler, glared at the young man.   
"Death, silence. The Spirit of Silver speaks."  
From the black marble rose a silver shadow. Depending on the angle, it could  
look like man, beast, spirit, or just a figment of the imagination.   
"Illness was died, and no one has attempted to defeat the Sailor Scouts,"   
spoke the spirit in a deep, gruff tone. "Would any of you like to explain this to   
me?"  
Greed, a shapely woman clad in tight green leather, curtseyed. "That is our   
goal, Your... Spiritness," she stammered a bit, glancing to Death for support.   
"But those Sailor Girls are far more powerful than we..."  
"Don't disappoint me!" the Spirit snapped, cutting her off. "I've had enough  
of you..." Unseen eyes glanced from one body to another. "All of you Raiders. You   
all sit and bicker, being little more than pests to one another and to me."  
The other woman, dressed in a gray dress that hung to her ankles, stepped   
forward. "But..."  
"Doubt, do not question me!" The Spirit began to fade out of sight. "You   
must defeat the Scouts. If not, you feel my wrath!"  
Covering her mouth, Greed gulped as the Spirit of Silver disappeared. "Oh   
my."  
"Oh my is right!" Doubt snapped, nervously playing with a strand of white   
hair. "Silver's mad."  
A man in red armor made a grievous face. "You are not to call the Spirit of   
Silver 'Silver', Doubt!" he scolded. "The Spirit is our..."  
"SHUT UP!" The King's voice echoed through the black chamber. "You are all   
idiots, you know that? Imbeciles!"   
Death swallowed and grabbed Greed's arm, pulling her away from the King.   
"Do you realize how close we were to defeat with that Shadow Monster?" His   
silver eyes flared in hatred. "Do you realize how close you came to dying at   
Cherry Hill Temple?"  
"We did not!" Greed protested, wrenching her arm free and walking up to the   
Raider King. Her green eyes were filled with anger. "How dare you say something   
like that? We scared the holy Andromeda out of those brats! And we could do it   
again!"  
Death grimaced, closing his eyes in dread. The King would surely kill her,   
leaving but ashes for the rest of the Raiders to clean up.  
Instead, the King chuckled. "Very well put, Greed," he said considerately,   
smoothing her hair. "That, Raiders, is what you need to win."   
There was a flash of light, and he was gone.  
"Whew!" Greed let out a deep breath. "I thought I was Raider toast!"  
Doubt sneered at her. "You got lucky, kid," she spat, lowering her eyes.   
"That's all. Understand? All you had was luck." She faded out of existence.  
"I must agree with Doubt, as much as it grieves me to do so," spoke   
Violence, his red eyes focusing on the youngest, dark haired Raider. "You risked   
your life and lucked out. I wouldn't gamble like that again." He turned on his   
heel and strode slowly out of the chamber.  
She just sniffled and turned to Death. "And I suppose you're going to yell   
at me and..."  
"I think, Greed, that you did very well." He wrapped a protective arm around  
her. "The others didn't expect that to happen and had to chide you for it."  
"Really?" she gasped, looking up at him with love in her eyes. "You think   
so?"  
"Greed," he softly said, holding her close, "I could never had done that.   
But you did."  
"Right..."  
"And I am proud of you for it. I love you."  
She smiled and leaned against him. "I love you too, Deathie."  
************  
  
"So, that's my problem, Serenity," the dark haired Priestess admitted to her  
childhood friend.  
The Queen of the Earth sighed and chewed on her pen cap. "That's quite the   
problem," she agreed thoughtfully. "Tara surely can not take care of the entire   
temple alone..."  
Raye sighed. "It's actually not her that I'm so fretful about," she replied.  
"But after the attack on the girls last week, I'm extremely worried."  
"And I don't blame you," the Queen decided. "I just don't know how to   
help..."  
A small pink cat jumped onto the desk. "I have an idea, Serenity," Diana   
helpfully volunteered.  
"Any little bit helps," the Mistress of Mars urged. "The conference starts   
in two days, and we have to get there."  
"Why not have Reeny stay with Tara for the duration of the conference?" the   
cat suggested. "After all, Reeny is old enough to drive, and the temple would be   
well protected with Sailor Moon around." She smiled. "And think of the quiet,   
tranquil air the Palace would have..."  
The golden-haired Queen closed her eyes, considering this. "Quiet..." she   
mumbled, smiling widely. "A nice bubble bath without noise... Hmmm..."  
"How could you think that?" Orb disagreed, jumping up next to his sister.   
"The Princess lives here! You shouldn't toss her out!"  
Diana stuck out her tongue. "But you DON'T live here, stupid," she retorted.  
"And I could use the vacation from guardianship."  
The gold-eyed cat glared at his older sister. "But the Scouts need their   
guardians! And Reeny needs you more than all the others do!"  
Serenity opened a single blue eye and glanced at both the cats. "Raye, dear,  
I love Diana's idea..."  
The pink cat, gloating, beamed at her brother.  
"...But Orb is right. Reeny does need someone to supervise her."  
The orange cat nodded happily Diana's haughty grin faded and became a sad   
frown.  
The Shinto rose. "I understand, Serenity. I'm sorry that I came..."  
"Hey, now," cut in the Queen, holding out a hand. "I never said I wasn't   
helping."  
Raye's face turned bewildered. "Then, what are you going to do?" she asked,   
a bit of annoyance in her voice.  
Standing, Neo-Queen Serenity smoothed her silk gown. "Reeny, Princess of the  
Earth, will stay with your daughter while you and Chad are gone."  
The Mistress of Mars smiled warmly at her friend. "Thank you."   
"And Diana, Guardian of the Princess, will remain with Reeny during her   
stay," Serenity finished. "Now, let me walk you to the Palace Gates."  
As the two women left, Diana groaned and glared at her younger brother.   
"This is all your fault! You and your hair-brained ideas! Why, I have half a mind   
to..."  
"Oh, dear," Orb mockingly interrupted, glancing at the wall clock. "Look at   
the time! I bet Phoebe is wondering where I am..." He grinned evilly and jumped   
off the desk. "See you at Cherry Hill, sis."  
"Why...you..." she threatened, lowering her magenta eyes further. "You just   
wait, Orb! I'll get you yet..."  
"I'm sure," he chirped, walking to the door. "Good luck."  
Diana just shook her head as the door closed behind the orange cat. "I," she  
resolved, "am going to kill that cat."  
************  
  
Michelle dropped her stack of papers. "You're pregnant?" she echoed, biting   
her lip. "How did this happen?"  
The blonde woman shook her head. "When two people really love each other..."  
"This is serious!" Michelle smacked Alexandra upside the head. "Susan, why   
didn't you tell us the instant that Amy told you?"  
"I had never even mentioned Terrence, and I was..." Susan picked at a   
crimson fingernail. "I don't know, you guys. I'm sorry."  
Michelle smiled lovingly and played with an aqua hair. "It's been a long   
time since there was a baby in the household, you know..."  
"No!" Alex sternly retorted, seeing the stars in her lover's eyes. "No."  
"I didn't mean that, Alex!" Michelle informed the blonde. "What I meant was   
that Susan could stay here when she has the baby."  
Susan considered this, then shrugged. "I have bigger problems on my hands   
right now."  
Staring at the garnet eyed woman, Alexandra's jaw went slack. "Oh... OH..."   
she thought aloud. "Terrence has no clue in Hell that you're going to have his   
kid, does he?"  
"Alex!" Michelle scolded. "I'm sure that she has the common sense to..."   
Seeing the wistful gleam in Susan's eyes, she stopped. "Oh dear."  
"I don't know how I should tell him," she admitted, adjusting her glasses.   
"It's not like I've been through this before."  
"Neither have we," noted Alex. "We had to agree before adopting Haley, but   
that's...different..." She trailed off and put an arm around Michelle, sighing.  
Looking up at Alex, the musician nodded. "But, whatever you do, we're here   
for you."  
"Right." The blonde glanced at Susan. "After all, you were the one   
who...sort of...gave us Hannah. We have to repay it somehow."  
Susan stood slowly. "Thanks, guys... I'm really thankful I have you."  
Michelle smiled lovingly. "And we're glad that we have you..."  
"Speak for yourself," muttered Alex with a wicked grin.  
"Most of us, anyway..." Michelle corrected herself while making a face.   
Susan chuckled and walked out of the office with a tender smile.  
Alex then shook her head. "This is awfully scary," she observed as the door   
closed. "Susan as a parent. It's been a long time since the girls were little...   
She has absolutely no practice or preparedness with children, and now she's going   
to become a mother!"  
"Alex," Michelle cooed softly, "how many babies had you held before Hannah   
came into our lives? How many diapers had you changed?"  
The blonde looked guiltily at the floor. "You're the mom... You do that   
stuff..."  
Michelle shook her head. "We're both moms, which makes this an   
extremely...unique...family. But you managed, and I managed, and Susan will really  
manage."  
"Do you really want to have another baby?" inquired Alex nervously.   
Michelle laughed, her elegant laughter washing all of Alexandra's suspicions  
away. "We're far too happy..."  
"And old," the tall woman chimed in. "After all, over a thousand years of   
life is far to old to raise..."  
"Alex," the Mistress of Neptune lovingly interrupted, "shut up."  
************  
  
"Phoebe? Are you down here?"  
From her spot on the dance floor, Phoebe rolled her ice blue eyes. The   
basement in their house was set up as a dance studio, but she usually could not   
have more than five minutes of practice before someone-mother, father, or   
sarcastic cat-interrupted her.  
"Yes, Daddy," she sighed, stretching a bit as she heard footfalls on the   
steps. "I was trying to dance, though..."  
"And I supposed you were crocheting down here," Greg chided himself, shaking  
his head of dark hair. "But this is important, Pheebs."  
Taking a swig of her water, the teen contorted her face into a grimace of   
mock terror. "Oh, no! The dreaded pet name! Something must be wrong!" Seeing his   
face, her sarcastic tone melted away. "Unless something IS wrong... Oh my."  
Sitting on an old folding chair, Greg stared at his teen daughter. "You   
can't tell your mom about this. Okay?"  
"Why," Phoebe asked with a hint of resentment in her voice, "would I want to  
talk to HER?"  
"Not the point," he retorted without a pause. "Your dramatic antics can   
really let the cat out of the bag, and you know it. You can't tell her."  
"I understand..." she nodded, pulling the rubber band out of her hair.   
Cascades of midnight blue hair fell about her face and down to her waist. "Now,   
what in the Sun's name is wrong?"  
Fiddling with his wedding ring, Greg grimaced. "I got a great job promotion   
today," he told her.  
"Wow," the girl sarcastically put in. "I'll be sure not to tell Mom such   
awful and grievous news. She just might curl up and..."  
"Give me a chance to finish," he cut in, lowering his brown eyes. "Don't   
interrupt until I say okay. Got it?"  
She made a face, but said nothing more.   
"My job promotion would be-by far-the best thing to happen to this family   
since your mother walked down the aisle with yours truly," he solemnly continued.   
"But, we would have to move."  
"To where?" she asked at his pause. "To, like, Juuban district? To the   
opposite end of Tokyo?"  
"To the United States of America," Greg finished. "To the USA."  
"No way!" exclaimed Phoebe with an elated grin. "Pack your bags, Dad!   
This'll be SO much fun!"  
"Okay," he cut in, "that is far enough. Think of all the repercussions of us  
moving, Pheebs."  
"The Scouts..." she sighed, leaning against the wall with a sigh. "My   
school, my friends, my life..."  
Greg rolled his eyes. "And your mother, Phoebe. Your mother." He glanced   
thoughtfully at the ceiling. "Her hospital, her job of being a Planet Mistress...  
it's all right here."  
"You couldn't possibly take her away from it," the teen agreed, playing with  
a loose thread on her leotard. "But, Dad, this is such a great opportunity..."  
"And therein lies the problem," he commented wistfully. "Something-someone-  
will be hurt, no matter what choice I take."  
Phoebe shrugged. "I have no words of wisdom to give you, Dad. I don't even   
know where I stand in the matter."  
"Obviously," he mumbled, wrapped up in his own thoughts.  
"But I'm with you," she continued, "win or lose, move or not."  
"Thanks, Pheebs," he smiled a bit, standing slowly. "Just, don't mention   
this to anyone. Not even the cat."  
"He's just a cat," she pointed out.  
Greg shook his head. "He's a loud-mouthed TALKING cat, Phoebe. Don't even   
think about it. Understand?"  
"Understood," she nodded. "See you later?"  
"Yep," he responded, walking up the basement steps.  
As she began to stretch again, a voice chimed in. "Tough thing that your pop  
has to do. If I were you, I'd stay here."  
"Orb!" Phoebe whirled around and glared at the orange and white cat who was   
sitting innocently in the chair where Greg had been just moments ago. "Damn you!"  
"Oooh, strong words from the girl who never swears," he mocked with a laugh.  
"What are you going to do? 'Heat Flash' me to death?"  
She growled. "Why were you listening in, anyway? What's it to you?"  
"I'm the Queen's cat, too," he commented. "I need to tell her all I hear..."  
"No!" Phoebe interrupted. "You mention anything you heard outside of this   
very room, you're lunch meat!"  
"And," continued the cat with a wicked grin, "you have mice-tasty mice-  
living down here."  
She rolled her eyes and hit herself in the forehead. "You mean that you   
weren't eavesdropping to be evil?"  
"Don't tell Diana," he sighed, "but no. I was innocently eating mice and   
heard your whole conversation." He smiled up at her. "Forgive me?"  
"Forgiven," she agreed with a smile. "Now, will you leave me alone to   
dance?"  
"Sure," he responded, jumping off of the chair. "But- quick catch of the   
day-your toe kicks need work."  
Avoiding the ballet slipper that was thrown at him, Orb ran upstairs.  
************  
  
"Everything's fine, Mom," Tara assured the Priestess, putting another suitcase   
in the trunk. "We've got it under control."  
"And, even if they don't," Diana chimed in. "I do, Mars. So have a great time   
at the Shinto Conference."  
Raye still looked fretful. Flipping a bit of hair behind her back, she glanced  
at the two teen girls. "Are you guys sure?"  
Rolling his hunter green eyes, Chad wrapped an arm around his wife. "They're   
fine. You're paranoid. Now, get in the car."  
"Chad's right," Reeny chimed in. "I mean, you've known me forever! Aren't I   
responsible enough?"  
The couple looked at one another and burst out laughing.   
"I mean it!" the Princess yelped, glaring at them. "I took care of the whole   
Palace once!"  
"And you remember what happened, don't you?" Diana asked with mockery in her   
voice.  
Reeny stuck out her tongue. "You know quite well that the itty bitty grease   
fire was NOT my fault!"  
The dark haired Priestess stopped laughing. "Grease fire? Maybe we should   
stay..."  
Opening the car door, Chad gently pushed his wife inside. "There are extra   
keys to the temple under the counter by the bells, but be careful with them. There's  
two hundred dollars in cash hidden in the Luna cookie jar, and...hmm..."  
"Our day to burn leaves is tomorrow, don't leave the computer on if there's an  
electrical storm, be sure to do the laundry, feed the iguana..." Tara smiled at her   
father. "We'll be fine, Father. Don't worry, alright?"  
He nodded and gave her a hug. "If you say so, Tara..." he agreed, looking into  
her green eyes. "Just be careful."  
"Of course," she agreed.   
Climbing into the driver's seat of the car, Chad took one long look at the two  
girls and one cat. "I'll call tomorrow, Tara. So long, Diana, Princess."  
"Reeny!" The pink haired girl prepared to throw a tantrum. "My name is Reeny!"   
As the red Audi pulled away from the curb and into the street, Tara sighed.   
"This will be one interesting stretch of four days."  
"Do you think we should have an all-Scout party?" the Princess asked, sticking  
her hands in her back pockets.  
Diana glared at her charge. "No parties, Reeny! No way!"  
Tara shrugged. "I'll think about it." Noticing the trails of steam that her   
breath was leaving in the air, the younger girl made a face. "Can we go inside,   
though? I'm freezing."  
"Good idea," the cat remarked. "I could use a nice cup of cream..."  
The trio all smiled and started up the stairs to Cherry Hill Temple.  
************  
  
It was a typical fall day in Crystal Tokyo as Richard Umino accompanied his   
mother to Crystal Palace. Well, maybe not so typical, after all... An eighteen-year-  
old boy walking towards the Palace-with or without his mother-was quite atypical.   
"Lyra! Hey, Lyra!" Richard called, seeing a familiar head of curls bob past   
him. Getting no response from the blonde, he cleared his throat. "Lyra Mokoti!" he   
yelled to her.  
His mother, a woman in her forties with red hair and smiling blue eyes,   
smiled. "You like her."  
"Mother," he growled as the girl waved and started towards her friend, "she's   
just a friend."  
"And I used to say such a thing about your father," she returned in her   
Brooklyn accent.  
"Hello Richard!" Lyra smiled. "I haven't seen you for a couple of days, and   
you've been missing Astronomy Club again."   
"Really, now?" His mother glared up at him. "What have you been staying after   
school for, then?"  
"Mom," he groaned, blushing. "Not in front of Lyra, please."  
"This is your mother?" asked Lyra with a warm grin. "Hello, Mrs. Umino. I'm   
Lyra Motoki, a student at Crossroads." She extended a hand.  
"Call me Molly, please," she responded, shaking the warm hand. "It's funny you  
mention Crossroads. I graduated from there."  
"Really?" the girl inquired. "That's so cool!"   
Richard rolled his blue eyes. "Lyra, I hate to be a party pooper, but my   
mother has a meeting with Neo-Queen Serenity soon."  
"I just came from the Palace," the teen sighed. "But Reeny wasn't there."  
"You know Reeny?" Molly asked, shocked beyond reasonable belief. "You don't   
happen to be related to Andrew Mokoti, do you?"  
Lyra nodded, her brown eyes smiling. "I'm his daughter."  
Biting her lip, Molly nodded, too. "Well, it was nice to meet, you. I hope to   
be seeing more of you."  
"Bye, Rich!" she smiled. "Nice to meet you, Molly!" Lyra started off in the   
direction she had originally been going.  
Richard looked at his mother with curiosity gleaming in his blue eyes. "What   
was all that about?" he asked.  
Jarring herself from personal thoughts, Molly looked up at her son. "Excuse   
me?"  
"You heard me," he condescendingly spat. "Why was her last name so important?"  
"I know," began Molly, "more about that girl than you do. I know more about   
Lyra than her parents do. I," she softly said, "know more about Lyra Star Mokoti   
than even SHE knows." She sighed. "And you'll find out."  
He ran a hand through his dark red hair. "When?" he questioned.  
His mother nodded. "Soon enough, Richard. Soon enough."  
************  
  
"Mom! Mom!" called Hannah, dropping her purse on the floor by the door. "Mom!"  
"Shh," hissed Susan from her spot on the couch. "Your sister is asleep."  
The young woman glanced at the clock. "It's two p.m. Why in Heaven's name is   
Haley still asleep?"  
Michelle entered the room with a large cup of tea. "Because she was playing   
Nintendo games till three in the morning again."  
"What?" Hannah scratched her head. "That makes absolutely no sense, Mom. That   
girl, as stubborn as she is, has a whole lot of common sense."  
Susan sighed and readjusted her position. "A certain Guardian of Time told   
your 'Papa', Alexandra, not to purchase a certain evil video game system. But,   
Alexandra did not listen, and..."  
"Shut up, Susan," spat Alex, rubbing her temples. "I already have a headache."  
Running a hand through her shoulder-length black hair, Hannah raised an   
eyebrow. "Did I miss something?"  
"Alex was playing some sort of racing game this morning and made herself dizzy  
with it." Michelle sipped her tea with a sigh. "Susan is sick for...reasons that we   
will later discuss...and I am perfectly fine." She shrugged. "How was your brunch   
with Brian and his family?"  
"Good," Hannah admitted. "But he wants to have dinner with you guys really   
soon."  
"Oh dear," thought Michelle aloud. "I'm not sure that I am fully prepared to   
meet my oldest child's boyfriend..."  
Alexandra sat next to Michelle on the piano bench and wrapped an arm around   
her. "The only problem I see is preparing Brian for the shock of our family   
arrangement."  
"What shock?" Footsteps sounded on the stairs as Haley entered the room, clad   
in comet pajamas. "What's so scary about us?" she looked at Hannah with love in her   
teal eyes. "I mean, so what if you have two mothers? And an aunt? We all love you,   
so it solves the problem at hand."  
"Or starts the problem all over again," responded her sister. "This is a lot   
different an arrangement than he has. I mean, his mom and dad remind me of Mom and   
Mom... except..."  
"They're not the same gender," cut in Haley. "Get over it."  
"And you'd adore his brother, Haley," the Mistress of Saturn finished.   
Michelle leaned against Alexandra and stared lovingly at her daughter.   
"Perhaps, Hannah, you're afraid that he'll think less of you." She smiled sadly.   
"Am I right?"  
Hannah nodded and ran her hands through her black hair. "I suppose so..."  
"You'd love him the same if he was in your place," Susan commented. "What's   
the difference?"  
"Can he please come over for dinner?" Hannah asked, a bit of valor in her   
voice. "Will you let him join us?"  
"Tomorrow night," Alexandra smiled.  
"Definitely," Susan agreed.  
"Neat!" Haley put in.  
Michelle was very quiet. "Only if Terrence comes."  
"EXCUSE ME?" The Guardian of Time's jaw went slack as she sat straight up.   
"What did you just say?"  
"I said," repeated Michelle, "that Brian can come if Terrence does." She   
smiled wickedly at Susan. "I'm sure that we all want to meet Susan's boyfriend."  
"SUSAN'S BOYFRIEND?" gasped both Hannah and Haley in unison.  
Susan blushed and looked at the ground. "Here we go again..." she muttered,   
beginning the whole story of Terrence.   
************  
  
"I'm bored," sighed Greed, walking down the street of Crystal Tokyo. "Who   
would have guessed that this big old city would be so boring?"  
Death rolled his black eyes. "Do you ever stop complaining?"  
"Nope!" she chirped, latching onto his arm. "How about we get a bite to eat   
and then go to that cute temple?"  
"The temple again?" he asked in dread. "Last time we were there, we had a   
run-in with the Sailor Scouts."  
"That's the plan!" she informed him, green eyes flashing in determination.   
"Revenge will be ours!"  
Shaking his head slowly, Death glanced at the angular wonder that was Crystal   
Palace. Would the Raiders ever sit inside the Palace and look out on their people-  
their slaves? Would they succeed? Or would doom once again rule their lives?  
"Hey, this place looks good!" Greed called, snapping him to attention. "It's   
called 'Jupiter's Delight'! Reminds me of all the Greek mythology stuff that Doubt   
briefed us on..." she stared at the friendly-looking restaurant. "Want to go in?"  
"I suppose so," sighed Death, freeing his arm from her grasp and wrapping it   
around her. "I'm just as hungry as you are..."  
"Good!" she announced, leading him to lunch.  
************  
  
"Do you want fries with that?" asked Alice, scribbling on the tiny pad of   
paper before her.  
The man at the table shook his head and handed the menu over to the auburn-  
haired teen. "And be sure to hold the pickles."  
Making a face, the girl turned and walked to the front of the restaurant,   
muttering to herself. "This isn't fair," she grumbled, tossing the menu into a bin.   
"Why doesn't Mom deal with her own restaurant?"  
From his spot at the front podium of 'Jupiter's Delight', Ken rolled his   
chocolate eyes. "Do you think I like to do this, Al?"  
"But..." she began.  
"Not 'buts'..." he interrupted. "'Buts' are for people who aren't willing to   
dream." Shaking his head, he smiled thoughtfully. "Outside in the world, there are   
ideas that don't involve 'buts'. They involve 'ands'."  
Alice sighed and groaned inwardly. Philosophy with Ken around didn't always   
make a whole lot of sense. "Dad, I was just saying that my ankle hurts again," she   
lied. "I guess you took it the wrong way."  
"Oh," was his response.   
Just then, a young couple walked in. The woman had long, braided black hair   
and a tight green dress on. Her companion wore a black suit. His black hair and eyes  
seemed impossibly familiar...  
"Table for two," the man said in a low, throaty tone. "Please."  
Ken nodded and looked at the table chart. "Hmm... Table 12. Alice will show   
where it is. Alice?"  
She wasn't listening, but staring at the couple. Why did she have a nagging   
feeling of déjà vu that she had previously met them? Who were they?  
"Alice Aurora Kino!" Ken hollered, snapping her back to reality. "Can you   
please show this couple to table 12?"  
Nodding, Alice grabbed two menus and led them to the table. It was by a window  
a rather nice. "Our specials today is my mother's homemade meatloaf, cherry pie, and  
smoked salmon," she automatically told them, taking out a pad of paper. "Can I start  
you out with a drink?"  
They both ordered coffee and sent the teen on her marry way to wait on more   
tables.   
Instead, Alice went to the phone and quickly dialed Phoebe's phone number.   
"Hey, Pheebs, it's Al," she impatiently said when her friend picked up the   
phone. "I need you to come over to my mom's restaurant. I have this really funny   
feeling in my stomach about two customers..."  
"Really?" inquired Phoebe through the phone. "Why?"  
Alice gulped and felt herself tremble. "I think... I think that they might be   
Raiders..."  
************  
  
Richard looked at his mother through the Palace security gate. "You sure you   
want to go alone?"  
She laughed in her high laugh and then glanced lovingly at her son. "I'll be   
fine, Richard... The Palace was a second home to me before you were born."  
"Really?" He raised an eyebrow.  
"Yes, really," she replied in her New York accent. "Don't worry about me. Go   
hang out with that cute Lyra girl or something."  
"Mother," he blushed, "she's just a friend..."  
Molly shook her head and smiled knowingly. "I see the stars you get in your   
eyes when you see her, even for a moment." She winked. "But, that's alright with me.  
Had to happen sooner or later..."  
He smiled back at her, not knowing exactly what to believe. Turning from the   
Palace gates, he glanced at Tokyo.  
A fall breeze ruffled his hair lightly as he looked at the busy city. Flowers   
still bloomed despite the October cold, and people still ran around in tank tops.   
What a wonderful world they lived in... Full of peace and tranquillity...  
And somewhere out there was a beautiful girl named Lyra Mokoti.   
Richard Umino shrugged and decided to pay that sweet, beautiful girl a visit,   
just like his mother had suggested.  
************  
  
"Reeny! Come back here!" yelled Tara as the Princess ran across the temple   
courtyard with her broom. "You'll..." The Shinto grimaced as the pink-haired girl   
tripped over her red and white temple robes and ended up in a pile of leaves.   
"...trip and fall..."   
The Princess climbed to her feet and groaned. "I will never again even THINK   
about playing keep-away with brooms," she muttered, brushing leaves off her robes.   
"That hurt! Who would have guessed that the ground would be so hard?"  
"It's cement," replied Tara without sarcasm. "It's SUPPOSED to be hard."  
Reeny just stuck out her tongue and resumed sweeping.  
"Girls!" called a familiar voice. "Girls!" Diana came running out of a temple   
building with Reeny's Locket of the Moon around her own cat neck. "We're needed at   
Lita's restaurant right away!"  
"Lita?" inquired Tara, confused.  
"Mistress of Jupiter," Reeny responded. Then, she turned to her cat. "What's   
wrong?"  
Diana sighed and shook the locket off her neck. "It turns out that the Raiders  
are there."  
"WHAT?" asked both girls in unison.  
"Greed and Death are eating lunch at the restaurant. Confused me, too, but I   
guess they were on their way to elsewhere."  
"We planning an ambush or what?" Reeny scooped up her locket.  
"I think we should just run over there. Check it out. Ambush them once we're   
all at Lita's," suggested Tara helpfully. "We don't want to upset the other Scouts   
until the last possible second."  
"And we don't want Chibi-Star showing up prematurely," agreed Reeny.  
Diana raised an eyebrow. "What about the Starlit Prince?"  
"Oh, HE can show up when ever he wants," she grinned, stars in her eyes. "I   
like him."  
Rolling her eyes, Tara looked nervously at her watch. "Can we PLEASE get   
going, guys?"  
Diana nodded. "Let's go!"  
************  
  
Richard smiled.  
He had been wandering down streets in the most suburban area of Tokyo when   
something began subconsciously nag him. The feeling refused to stop until he found   
Lyra's big, white house on Venus Road.  
And then, he smiled.  
Lyra was sitting on the still-green grass of her front yard, teaching a little  
brown haired girl to cartwheel. The afternoon sunlight reflected off her dark blonde  
hair and made her brown eyes sparkle.  
"Come on, Becky! You can do it!" she cheered as the younger girl attempted a   
cartwheel...and fell on her rear-end.   
Becky sniffled. "I'm just no good at this, Lyra!" she said, on the verge of   
tears.  
"You can do it," Richard bravely called to the girl, smiling and walking   
toward the two girls. "It takes a lot of practice, but..." He turned a perfect   
cartwheel in the grass and landed on his feet.  
Lyra smiled, blushing a tiny bit. "Better than I could ever do, Rich..." she   
told him, leaning back on her elbows.   
He smiled back at her. "Can I ask you a quick question, Lyra?" he inquired   
bravely.  
"Like what?" she requested, curiosity sparkling in her eyes.   
Eyeing Becky, who was watching from her vintage point in a pile of leaves,   
Richard grimaced. "Well, is there a place that's a bit less...open to Becky's   
marauding eyes?"  
Lyra nodded and led him to the sidewalk, a good fifty feet from the child-  
infested leaves. "What's up, Rich? You look extremely nervous..."  
He gulped and looked down at her. He had a good foot on her, but he didn't   
care. His mother's words leapt back at him.  
'I see the stars you get in your eyes when you see her.'  
"Lyra, would you like to see a movie with me tomorrow night?" he requested,   
smiling at her and pushing his glasses up on his nose.   
She jumped a bit and appeared to be taken aback. "Are you serious?" she   
quietly asked, staring a bit at him. "You, an upper-classman, want to take a ninth-  
grader to a movie?"  
"If you want to go," he responded, a hint of sadness in his deep voice. "I   
would really like it if you would come..."  
"Of course!" she told him, a grin crossing her face. "I would absolutely love   
to!" Stars filled her brown eyes as she stared up at him.   
Just then, a boy's head popped out of the front door. "LYRA! PHONE!" the   
little boy screamed, loud enough for the whole street to hear. "PULL YOURSELF AWAY   
FROM THAT BOY AND COME TALK TO ALICE!"  
The blonde blushed. "I have a call, and since Alice's working today..."  
"It must be important," he finished for her. "That's fine. I'll pick you up at  
eight, alright?"  
"Alright!" she grinned, running towards the house. "Bye, Rich!"  
"Bye..." he trailed off, smiling to himself. "Bye..."  
************  
  
"Damn Raiders," muttered Haley, arriving at the restaurant. "And the movie was  
just getting to the good part!"   
Alice lowered her eyes and led the last Scout to the large party room near the  
back of her mother's restaurant. "Don't you start, Haley," she hissed. "I am really   
not in a good mood."  
"Is it your ankle again?" the eldest Scout asked, raising an eyebrow.  
"Yeah, and just everything with Artemis lately..." she shrugged. "No bother,   
though."  
In the room, Reeny was desperately trying to draw up a plan with Phoebe's   
help. Unfortunately, not much good was coming out of the arrangement.  
"You guys," Lyra stressed, "why are you so set on getting a plan?"  
"Let's just beat them up!" Alice put in, sitting on the edge of a table. "I   
still have two hours to put in of work, anyway."  
Tara rolled her green eyes. "And I suppose that your mother would be pleased   
if you were to blow up her restaurant in the process."  
"Bite me, Yuuichirou," was the auburn-headed girl's responce. "You're such a   
little..."  
"Stop it!" Lyra shot at Alice. "You be nice! Tara hasn't done anything wrong   
today!"  
Reeny looked at the blonde with a wicked gleam in her red eyes. "Mokoti's   
being feisty today!"  
"I think that Alice is right," Phoebe added to the noise. "After all, we can't  
wait for them to get us. That's suicide."  
Haley, who was staring at the five other Scouts but not really listening,   
cleared her throat.  
"The most important thing is that we stop bickering," she softly said, looking  
at her five friends. "How can we get along as Scouts if you act like this."  
The pink-haired Princess, the tall Shinto, the happy-go-lucky blonde, the   
dramatic intellectual, and the impulsive cook all stopped their separate fighting   
and looked at Haley.  
"Thank you. Now, here's the plan," she continued strongly. "Alice is right.   
We're going to ambush the Raiders, but we're going to do it in style. None of this   
slaughter stuff that half of you are so attuned to." She let her teal eyes fly from   
Scout to Scout. "Understand?"  
"I guess," Reeny spoke up from the center of the group. "But will it work?"  
"Worth a try," put in Phoebe with a grin. "After all, I'll try anything once."  
"Okay, then," Alice said, jumping up. "Let's do it, Scouts!" She held up her   
locket. "Aurora Borealis Galactic Power..."  
"Moon Galactic Power..."  
"Comet Galactic Power..."  
"Polaris Galactic Power..."  
"Phoenix Galactic Power..."  
"Earth Galactic Power..."  
"MAKE UP!"  
************  
  
"Can I talk to you?" Greg nervously asked, standing in the doorway of his   
wife's office.  
Amy turned around and looked at him. His black hair was a bit disheveled, and   
his dark eyes seemed sad. He was tall, muscular... But inside was still the nervous   
Crystal Carrier that she had once fell so far in love with. "Is something wrong,   
Greg?" she asked, concern in her voice.  
Greg gulped and sat in a chair next to his wife. "Yeah, something is. It's   
work..."  
"Oh, dear," Amy commented, staring at him with her ocean blue eyes. "Did you   
get fired?"  
He shook his head. "Promoted to another office."  
"Wow!" she exclaimed, beaming. Seeing the far-off and disappointed look in his  
eyes, her smile melted into a frown.   
"We'd have to move to the states," he told her, sadness in his voice. "We'd   
have to leave everything we have."  
Amy gulped, tears coming into her eyes. "I see..."  
************  
  
Greed smiled as she sipped her coffee. "This human food isn't half bad, you   
know."  
"Yeah. And this cherry pie tastes very good," admitted her companion as he   
finished off his dessert. "We should do this more often."  
She raised an eyebrow. "Eat?"  
"No," he chuckled. "I mean go out. Do things. Like a human couple would."  
She smiled, love in her green eyes. "That would be very nice, actually. I   
really enjoy spending some time with you... I mean, other than the time we spend   
planing the downfall of Earth."  
"Yeah," he responded with a sigh. "Do you ever stop to think that this might   
be wrong?"  
"Wrong?" she asked in horror. "Why would it be wrong?"  
Death shrugged and sipped his water with a thoughtful expression on his dark   
face. "Well, we're ruining other people's lives. We were all mad when Illness   
died... But we're going to kill people the same way the Scouts killed him."  
"I see what you mean," she nodded, biting a fingernail. "But, we're doing this  
to save our people. I'm sure they all understand...somehow..."  
"We should explain it," thought Death aloud. "We should tell the Sailor   
Scouts..."  
"Tell us what?" came a voice.  
Greed groaned and snapped her fingers, changing her human clothing into her   
tight green leather ensemble. "Not you again... Can't we just eat lunch in peace?"  
For her spot in the doorway, Sailor Moon thought about this. "Well, you do   
need to eat..."  
"MOON!" yelled Sailor Aurora Borealis, making a face. "They're evil,   
remember?"  
"But Death's so cute..." Moon muttered, playing with the red bow that spanned   
across her chest. "We wouldn't want him to starve to death..."  
"We are the Sailor Scouts!" yelled Sailor Phoenix, stepping forward. "We're   
here to bust your butts!"  
Sailor Earth rolled her green eyes. "Good one," she sighed.  
Looking at the Scouts with his black eyes, Death raised a hand. "Dark rain!"  
Black, searing liquid began falling from the ceiling and onto the six Scouts.  
"Damn!" hollered Comet as the hot fluid hit her bare arms. "That is so damn   
hot! Damn! Damn!"  
"Enough!" muttered Phoenix, trying to avoid the rain. "It's bad that we're   
being burnt, fine... WE DO NOT NEED YOUR SWEARING!"  
Sailor Earth glared at the two Raiders. They were laughing as the Scouts   
whined about the burns they were receiving.  
"Earthly Thunderstorm... STRIKE!" she yelled, black hair flying about her.  
Lightning, rain, and hail fell onto the two Raiders... and onto the Scouts,   
cooling down the dark rain.  
"Good idea, Earth!" Sailor Polaris commented without sarcasm. "We're not   
getting burnt any more!"  
Aurora Borealis rang some water from her lavender skirt. "Now, we're getting   
soaked."  
"Masochist," muttered Earth under her breath.  
"And what's that supposed to mean?" Aurora Borealis shot back, virtually   
forgetting about the rain.  
Earth smiled sweetly. "Nothing..."  
"A little rain won't stop them for long," observed Sailor Comet. "Why don't   
we double team them, Phoenix?"  
Sailor Phoenix considered this. "I like that idea a lot, Comet. Shall we?"  
Greed, who was busy covering her sword to keep it from rusting, looked at the   
Scouts in horror. "Uh-oh," she muttered to Death.  
Due to his attempting to stop the thunderstorm, Death ignored her.  
"Comet Crater..."  
"Phoenix Heat..."  
"Death?" called Greed, pulling on his shirtsleeve. "DEATH?"  
"CLOSE!"   
The floor opened up below the two Raiders.  
"FLASHING!"  
Steam and fire erupted from Sailor Phoenix's outstretched hands and flew   
towards Death and Greed.  
Looking over at Greed, Death realized that he was practically floating above   
the ground. "Uh... Bye!"  
Both Raiders disappeared, and the two Scouts groaned as their attacks   
destroyed a table.  
Aurora Borealis closed her eyes. "Mom is going to kill us..." she muttered,   
shaking her head.  
************  
  
"Michelle, have you seen my suit?" asked Alexandra from inside the closet. "I   
can't find it for the life of me."  
The aquamarine haired woman walked out of the bathroom and looked at Alex. "I   
took it to the cleaners, dear."  
"WHAT?" She stared at the musician. "You did WHAT?"  
Michelle sighed. "I took it to the cleaners, Alex. Don't worry, though-I   
bought you this really cute dress you'll love..."  
"Dress?" she repeated. "You bought me a dress?"  
"It's a gold, sleeveless dress. Just screams your name to me," Michelle   
continued. "Really cute. You can wear the amber earrings that I gave you for your   
last birthday and then... Hmm... Maybe that cute silver necklace with the navy   
stone? I don't know..."  
"A dress," Alexandra sighed. "What possessed you to buy a dress?"  
Playing with an aqua strand of hair, Michelle wrapped her arms around Alex's   
neck. "Because you have to look gorgeous to meet Brian, dear one. After all, he's   
Hannah's boyfriend."  
"I always sort of...hoped...that Hannah would stay younger longer," admitted   
the blonde, stroking Michelle's hair. "It's so heart-wrenching to see them grow up."  
"I know..." Michelle rested her head on Alex's shoulder. "But, sometimes,   
that's just the way it is. Think of how all the other Mistresses feel."  
"The other Mistresses have younger children," was Alexandra's annoyed   
response. "The other Mistresses can have children still..."  
"And so could we," Michelle responded.  
"No." The blonde hugged her lover close. "As much as I hate them growing up, I  
wouldn't have it any other way."  
************  
  
Hannah stood alone on the front porch, pacing nervously.   
"What is he going to say?" she asked herself aloud. "I mean, how can I explain  
to him that I have lesbian mothers, a sarcastic adopted Sailor Scout sister, and a   
pregnant, single aunt whose boyfriend's joining us and doesn't know about the baby?"  
She adjusted her glasses. "I'll scare him off."  
The door opened behind her, and the young woman whirled around to see Susan   
step out. "Does this dress make me look fat?" she half-jokingly inquired, modeling   
the long crimson dress she was wearing. Already, just a tiny bit of baby-girth was   
starting to show.  
"How pregnant are you?" asked Hannah, staring.  
Susan grimaced. "That bad, huh?" Looking down at herself, she shrugged. "A   
little over a month. Plus, Mistresses have a gestation period of..."  
"Six months. I know." The younger woman glanced up at her aunt. "Are you going  
to tell Terrence tonight?"   
The Guardian of Time bit her lip, a tear coming to her eye. "It's not easy..."  
she commented, looking at Hannah. "To have such a secret and not be able to tell the  
person who most needs to know." She sighed. "But something good is bound to come out  
of this. I know it."  
"Something good," echoed Hannah, staring into the setting sun.  
"Out in the world, Hannah, there are ideas. There are chances. And then, there  
are wonders. They're held in our minds, to come out at a moment's notice." Susan   
wrapped an arm around her niece. "Ideas, chances, wonders. And each are born in the   
mind of a child." She sighed. "Maybe in my child, there will be some. Maybe, when   
you have children, they will be in your child's mind. Only time will tell."  
"Susan," Hannah softly said. "I know I never tell it to you, or to my moms, or  
to Haley, but I love you all so much."  
"And we love you," thought the Guardian of Time aloud.  
Just then, a white car pulled into the driveway.  
Hannah smiled apprehensively. "It's Brian," she told Susan.  
The taller woman detached herself from Hannah. "I'll go inside, dear one. Good  
luck."  
"Thanks," Hannah responded, watching the front door close behind her aunt.  
************  
  
Richard stood on the doorstep, staring at the door in front of him. Lyra's   
door. The door into Lyra's house.   
"What if her parents think I'm a total idiot?" he asked the door. "What if she  
hates me? What if she doesn't want to date me?"  
"And what," came a small voice, "happens if all your 'what ifs' drag you from   
something truly great?" A little blonde girl popped out from behind a bush. "You   
don't get it, do you?"  
Richard looked down at the child, who was probably about the age of six. Her   
hair was corn-silk blonde, and her eyes were the color of spring clover. "Who are   
you, little one?" Something in her eyes sparked recognition...  
She stuck out her tongue. "Celeste, silly! Don't you remember the pizza   
parlor?"  
"How could I forget?" he rhetorically asked, ruffling her hair. "Nice to see   
you again, kid."  
The little girl just grinned mischievously and threw open the door. "HEY   
EVERYBODY! LYRA'S DATE IS HERE!" she called, walking inside.  
A short blonde woman wearing an orange apron and a large red bow in her hair   
appeared from the next room. "Well, hello Richard. Come on in." As he walked into   
the house, she offered a hand. "I'm Mina Mokoti, but you can call me Mrs. Mokoti."  
"Nice to meet you," he politely said, shaking her hand. "I've heard a lot   
about you."  
She raised an eyebrow. "How ironic. We've hardly heard anything about you."  
"Come off it, Mina," called another voice. "You'll scare the poor boy." A   
tall, blonde man with the same brown eyes as Lyra had entered and smiled warmly.   
"I'm Andrew, which you can be sure and call me."  
"Hello," Richard cordially responded, gulping. "I was just telling Mrs. Mokoti  
how much I've heard about you."  
Andrew's smile grew wider as he shrugged. "Well, that's our little Lyra. Such   
a chatterbox, she is. Sit down, Richard-she's not quite ready yet."  
Gulping, he pushed up his glasses and then proceeded to sit on the edge of the  
couch. He nervously toyed with the edge of his jacket while Mina talked.  
"Now, I'm assuming that you'll be very good to our little girl tonight," she   
said. "After all, her birthday is in about four months, which means that, right now,  
she's only fourteen."  
Richard attempted a smile. "I know that," he responded. "She mentioned her   
birthday once at Astronomy Club."  
"Good for her," continued Mina, not without sarcasm in her voice. "You cannot   
be out past eleven at night, and be sure to carry mace spray."  
Andrew lowered his eyes. "Mina..."  
"No monkey business, either," she told the young man in a lower tone. "She's   
younger than you, so I don't want..."  
Celeste ran into the living room and threw herself onto Mina's lap, providing   
a rather large distraction. "Can I go to the temple for a little while?" she   
inquired, eyes wide. "The Princess is there!"  
"I suppose," was her mother's response. "Be careful on your bike, though."  
Celeste clambered off her mother's lap, winked knowingly at Richard, and ran   
out of the house.  
Mina smiled again. "Now, if you should need anything, be sure to call us. If   
anything happens, call us. If you just want to talk, call..."  
"MA!" came a teen voice. "Are you trying to scare my date witless?"  
Richard took a breath of relief upon seeing Lyra on the stairs. Her curly hair  
was pulled back by a loose orange ribbon that flowed freely down her back. She   
clothing consisted of a pair of black dress pants and a too-big orange sweater. He   
smiled widely. She looked positively...gorgeous, he decided.  
"Lyra," Mina sternly informed her daughter, "I think he's a bit to old for   
you."  
"Mina!" hissed Andrew through clenched teeth. "Cut it out, alright?"  
An expression of mock innocence crossed her lovely face. "Who, me? Did I say   
something wrong?"  
Lyra rolled her brown eyes. "Of course not, Ma. Come on, Rich." She tugged on   
his jacket sleeve and started out the door.   
"And be sure not to have too many sweets!" Mina called after them.  
Andrew, who had followed the young couple out the front door, shook his in   
exasperation. "Ignore her. She's a ravenous viper when it comes to the kids," he   
told Richard, reaching into his pants pockets. He pulled out a fifty-dollar bill and  
handed it to the young man. "Now, don't spend this all in one place."  
Lyra blushed. "Dad..." she growled.  
"What?" Andrew asked. "Now, one more thing."  
Richard dreaded knowing what that 'one thing' would be.  
"Have fun."  
************  
  
Brian was a blonde haired man. His copper eyes were rimmed by stylish black   
glasses, and he was rather short; Hannah had a good three inches on him. But,   
besides that, he looked rather mature for his age of twenty one.  
"I hope your relatives like well-burnt apple pie," he told Hannah with a sly   
grin. "My mother insisted on baking a pie, but she can't cook."  
Hannah giggled and smiled lovingly at him. "Can we talk?"  
Brian raised an eyebrow. "Talk? Oh dear. When women usually want to talk..."  
"I don't mean it like that, sweetie," she told him, sitting on the porch   
swing. "But, I need to warn you about something."  
"Like what?" he asked, totally confused beyond reason.  
Hannah sighed. Here it came. The truth. The story. Her family.  
"Well, for starters, my sister is adopted. And so am I." She gulped. The   
easiest part was out in the open.  
He put his hand on hers. "That's not a big deal..."  
"It gets worse," she attempted. "I also have an aunt... Well, kind of. She's   
just a really close family friend who lives with us." Hannah played with a splinter   
on the swing. "She's single, pregnant, and a bit on the sarcastic side..."  
Brian raised an eyebrow, but didn't seem phased. "That's nothing all that   
awful..."  
"Her boyfriend, the brother of King Endymion and father of the baby, is coming  
tonight. To make matters worse, he doesn't know that his girlfriend is going have   
his child." Hannah leaned back against the swing. "But that's not the worst part,   
Brian. I mean, you would probably still care about me if those details were the only  
weird things about my family, but..."  
He looked at her. "What is wrong, Hannah? You seem to be avoiding the question  
at hand."  
She sighed, nearly crying. "I... My... Umm... It's like this," she stammered,   
staring into his copper eyes. "I have two parents."  
"Really? I never would have guessed." Brian's voice was filled with a loving   
sarcasm. "Now, will you PLEASE explain all this to me before I am forced to burst   
into your house and figure it all out for myself?"  
Hannah sighed and felt herself tremble. Smoothing her long, black skirt, she   
took a deep breath. "My parents aren't just any parents... They're Alexandra and   
Michelle, two lesbians."  
He looked at her, still a bit confused. "Hannah, is that all? Did you actually  
that I'd be the least bit phased?" Wrapping an arm around her, he smiled. "You never  
mentioned a father, but always said 'parents' in plural. I thought...maybe...that   
was your general position, but I didn't mention it." He shrugged. "I thought it   
might have been a moot point."  
Blinking back tears, Hannah shook her head. "You're too smart for me," she   
smiled sadly. "Doesn't it bother you, though? That my family isn't normal?" She   
stared into his bright bronze eyes, still trying not to cry.  
Brian shrugged. "Hannah, I love you. It doesn't matter who raised you. I   
wouldn't care if you were raised by Serenity herself, or by the poorest man in the   
world. I wouldn't care if you were raised by aliens, or Sailor Scouts, or Planet   
Mistresses."   
Flushing at this, she gritted her teeth. "I'm glad."  
"Now," he told her, standing, "I know it sounds odd, but even blackened apple   
pie can get too cold. Would you like to go inside?"  
Laughing, she smiled and took his hand. "Of course."  
************  
  
Reeny was sitting on the temple steps, reading a comic book, when a little   
blonde girl came running up, panting.  
"Princess Reeny!" the girl called, green eyes smiling. "Princess!"  
The pink-haired girl glanced up and was about to start a lecture on her name   
being Reeny when she looked at the child. Those eyes... that purple bow... Why was   
she so familiar?  
"Can I help you, little one?" she asked, closing the comic. "Do you need a   
good luck charm."  
She shook her head. "I'm Lyra's sister Celeste, and I need your help!"  
This caught Reeny's attention. "Is she in danger?" inquired the Princess,   
leaping up. "Does she have an important message for me?"  
Celeste blushed deeply. "Uh... no," she admitted. "Lyra's on a date."  
"A date?" Reeny giggled. "A DATE? With who?"  
"His name is Richard," the girl told her. "And he's really not her type."  
This made the teen freeze. "Richard? Oh, man... I would LOVE to witness that!"  
She laughed again. "Really, now, Celeste, what do you need?"  
"I need you, Princess," she informed Reeny. "You have to come with me while I   
spy on them."  
Red eyes went wide. "Spy? Do you know what Lyra will do to you?"  
Celeste smirked. "She'll only hurt us if we get caught." She shrugged.   
"But... if you're not up to it..."  
The Princess ruffled Celeste's hair. "You're a lot like I was at six, you know  
that?" Smiling, Reeny groped in her robes for the car keys. "You're lucky that I   
have my uncle's car for the week. Otherwise, you'd be S.O.L."   
"What's that mean?" Celeste inquired innocently.  
Reeny went pale. "Never mind. Give me five minutes to change, and we're out of  
here. Okay?"  
"Okay!"  
************  
  
Phoebe looked at her mother. She had never seen Amy so pale and sick-looking.   
It was a scary thing for the teen.  
"We've decided, Phoebe," Greg solemnly said, folding his hands. "After tossing  
around several ideas on my job, we've found the solution."  
Amy nodded as her husband spoke. "There are certain aspects to your life that   
prevents us from moving, such as the Sailor Scouts and your schooling."  
"We want you to benefit from everything that we decide on." Greg played with   
his wedding ring. "That's what makes this so difficult."  
The teen sighed. "I understand, you guys. But it's not fair to take you from y  
our job, Dad..." Tears welled in her ice blue eyes.   
"You won't be." The doctor's tone was icy. "We found one solution-one outcome-  
that gives both your father, me, and you a good chance at happiness."  
He smiled, dark eyes sad. "Your mother's position was about to be taken over,   
and she was going to be transferred to another hospital..."  
"In Boston, which is right where your dad's new job would be," Amy clarified,   
slowing swallowing. "So, that was two down."  
"One to go," Phoebe sighed. "So, I guess we're moving..."  
"WE are, Phoebe," Amy told the girl after a long pause. "But YOU... you're   
not."  
************  
  
"You must be Brian!" smiled Michelle as Hannah and her boyfriend walked in the  
front door. "I'm so glad to meet you!" she exclaimed, hugging him. "You're really a   
hot topic in this house, young man."  
From her seat on the couch, Haley snorted. "No he's not, Mom. We talk more   
about racecars than..."  
Alexandra kicked her daughter in the shins, still trying to insert her   
earrings. "Ignore her. She's a drug addict."  
"Alex!" scolded Michelle, taking the pie from Brian. "What a thing to say!   
Come to the kitchen right now!"  
The blonde held out a hand to the young man. "I'm Alexandra, Hannah's other   
mom." She smiled. "I was planning on wearing a suit, but a certain aqua-haired   
musician took it to the dry cleaner."   
Brian shook Alex's hand warmly and examined her clothing. The gold dress, as   
Michelle had promised, looked great.   
"I think you're lovely," he smiled.   
Alexandra smirked and started off after Michelle. "Ha, Michi, did you hear   
that? LOVELY! You've got a run for your money, babe..."  
Hannah rolled her purple eyes and smiled a wary smile at the girl on the   
couch. "This is Haley, my sister. She's sixteen."  
"Hi!" the girl chirped pleasantly with a sly grin. "It's nice to finally meet   
the man who keeps my sister from becoming another Susan."  
Though slightly confused, Brian smiled back at her. "For what it's worth, you   
don't seem as awful as Hannah makes you sound."  
"Nah, I am," Haley retorted. "She's just not brave enough to get dirty with   
her Glaive... YET..."  
"Haley," growled Hannah under her breath.  
Brian looked doubtfully at her and raised an eyebrow. "Glaive?"  
Walking in with a tray of cookies, the Guardian of Time provided a   
distraction. "Why, hello Brian!" Susan smiled, managing to discreetly beam her   
younger niece over the head. "I'm Susan, Hannah's aunt."  
He smiled warmly. "You're the one with the boyfriend, right?"  
Looking at the ground, Hannah managed to keep herself from blushing.   
"Why, yes," the woman responded with a smile. "And, from the sound of you,   
you'll get along really well with Terry."  
"Oooh, he's TERRY now!" Haley smirked, standing slowly.  
She lowered her garnet eyes. "I think that Michelle is calling you, dear."  
"Nope!" Haley smiled. "Not at all."  
Grabbing the teen's arm, Susan dragged her niece into the kitchen.  
"I'm sorry, Brian," Hannah blushed, throwing herself onto the couch. "This is   
turning into the dinner from Hell."  
He smirked. "And we have yet to eat," he responded.  
************  
  
"There they are!" hissed Reeny with a grin. "How lucky are we? Two rows behind  
them!"  
Celeste resisted the urge to giggle and stared at her sister and Richard, both  
intently watching the previews. "Now, the fun begins."  
"What's the plan, Agent Purple?" asked the Princess with a wicked grin.  
Celeste, or "Agent Purple", smiled up at her newfound friend. "The goal, Agent  
Hot Pink, is to retain Richard from making a move on my sister."  
"Really?" Reeny asked in a small state of shock. "Isn't that a   
bit...underhanded, Purple?" she inquired. "I mean, it's Lyra's date and she should   
reap the benefits..."  
"Those are NOT benefits!" the child snapped. "I've heard my mother talk about   
upperclassmen dating younger girls before, and it's bad... It's... WRONG!" she   
exclaimed.  
Nearby moviegoers glared at the two girls with disdain as Celeste yelped   
aloud.  
Reeny blushed. "Let's just watch the movie and see what happens, okay?"  
Through silent tears, the blonde girl nodded.  
************  
  
"A movie theater? Since when does world conquest revolve around movies?" asked  
Greed, whining. "I don't get it..."  
Death rolled his eyes. "I'm taking my orders from the King himself, dear. I   
don't understand either, but at least I'm not whining about it."  
She stuck out her tongue and wandered aimlessly about the projection booth.   
"This room's so... little," she commented, leaning against the wall. "And the   
theater itself is so big!"  
He smiled at her innocence. "You may be the Raider of Greed," he told her,   
"but you're not all that worldly."  
"I know." She looked at him with love in her green eyes. "I'm still sort of   
ditzy, aren't I?" she shrugged. "Oh well... it's not like I'll die tomorrow! I've   
got my whole life to live!"  
Death stopped what he was doing to take in a short, ragged breath. He was   
shaking. Positively shaking. And he knew what that meant.  
"Not today," he whispered to himself, still staring at Greed with unseeing   
eyes. "Please...not today."  
************  
  
The doorbell rang.  
Michelle, who was busy stirring the rice, looked to Alex for support. "Could   
you get the door?"  
The blonde sighed. "But this is a really good race!" she protested, staring at  
the television screen with intent eyes.  
"Alex..." warned the musician, lowering her eyes.  
"Fine." High-heels clicking on the tile, Alexandra walked into the hall and   
threw open the front door. "What?" she curtly asked the young man in front of her.   
Repositioning the gold-rimmed glasses on his nose, the man blushed deeply.   
"I'm sorry, Miss," he told her apologetically. "I think I have the wrong house."   
Alex shivered as she felt his green eyes dart from her face to her torso,   
hips, legs, and finally to her feet.  
"Yep, wrong house," he informed her after the evaluation. "Unless, of course, you're  
Alex Ten'ou."  
She was taken aback. "Alright, bub," she said in a low tone, cracking her   
knuckles. "You better have one good explanation for how you knew my name, or..."  
"Whoa!" Jumping back, he covered his face with the bottle of wine he held.   
"Don't hurt me! My name is Terrence; I'm here for dinner." He peeked out from behind  
the container. "I come bearing alcohol, if it helps."  
The woman blushed and held the door open. "I won't hurt you as long as you   
don't rat me out to Susan."  
"Sets?" he inquired with a shrug. "Nah, Al... This can be our little   
secret..." Looking at her once more, he winked. "You are hot, though."  
"I'm gay, Terrence, if it's any help," she replied causally. "And, beyond   
that, you're dating one of my best friends."  
Walking out of the kitchen, Susan smiled widely. "Terry, you're just in time!   
Dinner will be ready in about five minutes."  
He grinned and kissed her on the cheek. "Hey, Al, you know what I just said?"   
he asked, winking again at the blonde.  
Alexandra groaned inwardly. "Yeah?"  
"Triple it and maybe...MAYBE...it'll fit Sets here," he mused, his smile   
growing.   
The tall blonde rolled her eyes and took the wine into the kitchen.  
Susan, meanwhile, was pointing out each family member to him. "The girl   
setting the table is Haley, the woman in the black skirt is Hannah..."  
"Saturn, right?" inquired Terrence in a low tone.  
She nodded, but didn't say anything. "The blonde man is Brian-Hannah's   
boyfriend... And you met Alex, I assume."  
Michelle walked into the kitchen, wiping her hands on a towel. "Hello   
Terrence! I'm so happy to meet you!" Hugging him, she lowered her voice. "You leave   
Alexandra alone," she joked with a sly grin. "Her temper is worse than Susan's..."  
"I will," he promised, glancing around the room. "Now, I don't want to seem   
too forward, but who's that guy in the family portrait?" he asked, looking at a wall  
hanging of the two girls, Michelle, Alex, and Susan.  
Michelle and Susan both laughed. "That's Alex," Michelle responded through   
giggles.   
He paled, embarrassed. "She sure looks...different..." was his response. The   
women just kept laughing.  
"Oh, Terry," smiled Susan warmly. "We're laughing with you, dear. EVERYONE   
says things like that..."  
"When your sister-in-law, Serenity, first met Alex," Michelle volunteered,   
"she spent an entire day trying to figure out if Alex had a girlfriend..."  
Terrence choked back laughter. "You're kidding!" he exclaimed.  
The aquamarine haired woman shook her head slowly. "Not in the least,   
Terrence..."  
Alexandra walked out of the kitchen, then, carrying a slotted spoon. "Okay,   
that's enough of the 'Alexandra Ten'ou Cross-dressing Files'," she decided, waving   
the spoon at both Planet Mistresses. "Besides, dinner's ready."  
Susan smiled. "Good. I'm starved. Are we having pickled beats?"  
Running a hand through his hair, Terrence raised an eyebrow. "You hate beats,   
dear one..."  
"I'm in such a mood for beats, though," she observed. "I wonder why..."  
Alexandra and Michelle looked at one another nervously.  
"Let's eat," the Mistress of Neptune finally said, twisting the towel in her   
hands.   
Her blonde counterpart nodded and started off to the dining room.  
************  
  
Richard stared at Lyra. She was so cute, sitting there and stuffing her face   
with popcorn. He smiled, but something inside was bothering him...  
He felt so drawn, both consciously and otherwise to the girl. And he couldn't   
figure it out for the likes of him. She made his palms sweaty, his heart race, and   
his head spin.  
It couldn't be love... could it?  
He shrugged and decided to be daring. He knew that Lyra liked him... Why not   
try something to test that?  
Slowly, deliberately, he raised the arm next to her and prepared himself to   
put it around her shoulders.  
"OOOOOH!" someone behind them yelled.  
Jumping nearly a mile into the air, Richard withdrew his arm and looked   
guiltily at his feet.  
"Are you okay?" his date asked, glancing at him with her light brown eyes.  
He tried to be cool. "Why wouldn't I be?"  
"Richard, you just jumped out of your seat." Lyra raised an eyebrow.  
He blushed. "It's an intense movie, Lyra," he attempted, with a smile.  
She giggled. "You're cute when you try to act all cool, you know that?"  
He tried to take her hand.  
"OOOOOH!" came the voice again.  
He mimicked picking lint off her shirtsleeve. "You really should use Downy.   
Cuts down on fuzzy things like that," Richard said calmly.   
Looking doubtfully at him, Lyra shook her head. "You'll have to tell my mom   
then, I suppose," she sighed, picking at her fingernails.  
He cracked his knuckles, thinking about pulling the arm-over-shoulder move   
again.  
As he tried, the voice came back.  
"OOOOOH!"  
Groaning, he tapped her on the shoulder. "Do you hear that?"  
Her eyes grew wide. "Hear what?" she asked, confused.  
"Someone keeps yelling 'oooooh'..." He blushed, realizing how stupid he   
probably sounded.  
Grinning mischievously, Lyra lowered her voice. "Why would someone be doing   
that?" she inquired with mock innocence in her voice.   
He stared at the ground.  
"Richard Umino!" she playfully scolded. "Are you trying to take advantage of   
me?"  
He didn't say anything, but the blush on his face was unmistakable.  
She smiled and leaned against him. "That's so..."  
"OOOOH!" The voice cut her off.  
"I heard it this time," she told him, anger in her voice. Turning around, she   
continued, "And I know the voice, too."  
"Shit! Run, Purple, run!" the voice said.  
Lyra groaned as she saw someone with meatball-style hair stand try to run from  
the theater, dragging a little girl...a girl with a bow...with her.  
And that was when the movie shut off.  
************  
  
"That was great food, Michelle," Terrence said warmly, wiping a bit of wine   
off his goatee.   
She smiled. "What year was that wine, though? It has to be the best I've   
tasted in my life!"  
Alexandra nodded in agreement. "It was good."  
Sipping deliberately at her water, Susan sighed and changed the subject. "How   
about some of Brian's great-looking pie?" she asked.  
He groaned. "No... Not that!"  
Hannah laughed. "Yes, THAT. I'll serve it." She stood and placed her napkin on  
the table. "Who wants it with ice cream?" she inquired of the group.  
"I will," Haley smiled from her spot next to Alex. "LOTS of ice cream."  
The Guardian of Time considered this. "How about sauerkraut?" she requested.  
Everyone stared at her. "Sauerkraut?" repeated Terrence.   
"As in the nasty German stuff?" Alexandra questioned her.  
Susan nodded. "Yeah."  
Brian raised an eyebrow. "On apple pie?"  
"Yeah," she smiled. "It sounds really good!"  
Terrence stood up. "Sets, can I please talk to you outside?" he asked, looking  
down at her with concerned green eyes.   
Her smile quickly turned into a frown as soon as her words hit her. He still   
didn't know... At all...  
"Yeah..." She walked to the back door, Terrence following.  
Alexandra and Michelle glanced at one another nervously, and Hannah went off   
to get the pie in silence.  
Suddenly, Haley jumped a mile into the air and stuck a hand into her pocket.   
"Shit! Locket alert!"  
Brian raised an eyebrow as the brown-haired girl ran out of the dining room.   
"Locket alert?" he asked the couple.  
Michelle played with her napkin, and Alexandra furrowed her brow in silence.  
"Okay, guys, I know I'm not a part of this family, and that's perfectly fine   
with me," he told them. "But every time the Sailor Scouts come up in this house,   
everybody gets real jumpy and changes the subject on me." He looked at Alexandra.   
"Alex, you usually are the first to respond to it. Three times at dinner..." He   
sighed. "And you all wear these weird beads..."  
Michelle sighed. "We're Planet Mistresses, Brian," she softly said, playing   
with her bracelet. "Hannah, Susan, Alexandra and me..."  
"Saturn, Pluto, Uranus, Neptune," sighed Alex. "And Haley's a Sailor Scout."  
Brian gulped. "So it is true. They really are just normal people, like   
everyone says..."  
Hannah came up behind him and put her arms around his neck. "And you're dating  
one," she smiled.  
************  
  
"Come out, Sailor Saps!" called Greed from her place at the front of the   
theater. "I'm got an enormous urge to beat you to death and dispose of your   
bodies..."  
Suddenly, a Sailor Scout appeared in front of her, basking in a golden glow.   
"I am Sailor Polaris, shielded by the light of the North Star." Crossing her arms,   
she smiled. "And you're star dust."  
Death, who was still trembling inwardly, lowered his eyes. "Wind."   
A tornado began spinning in front of the Scout. She jumped out of the way, but  
she still couldn't completely avoid it...  
Until a purple rose flew and hit Death in the arm.  
"Out in the galaxy, there are stars," came a male voice.  
"And nebulae!" came a young girl's voice.  
"We protect those galactic powers!" the man called as a light erupted from the  
ceiling, illuminating the room.   
The man was wearing his tuxedo and ballroom mask. "I am the Starlit Prince!"  
And clinging to his legs was a little blonde girl with a yellow and purple   
Sailor fuku. "And I'm Sailor Chibi-Star!" she announced, grimacing at the female   
Raider. "We don't like you, but we'll fight you!"  
"Well put," Greed told the girl. "But are you prepared for those to be the   
last words you ever say?"  
"Greed..." Death warned, putting pressure on the puncture wound he had gained.  
"Don't fight today..."  
She made a face at him. "You glory hog!" she yelled, brandishing her sword.   
"I'm going to beat the Scouts, once and for all!"  
He glared at her. "Greed..."  
Sailor Polaris and the Starlit Prince looked at one another. "What do we do?"   
asked the older Scout, raising her eyebrows high.   
"Chibi-Star?" he asked the trembling little girl.  
She shook her blonde pigtails. "Not Greed..." she whispered.  
A voice from the back of the room chimed in. "You can do it, Sailors! I'm   
here!"  
Polaris grinned upon recognizing Sailor Moon's voice. "Come on, Sailor   
Chibi-Star! Help me out!"  
The little one nodded and stepped out from behind the Prince's cape. "Small   
Star..." she voiced, staring straight at Greed with a vengeful glare.  
Death's black eyes flashed in fear as the child set up her attack. With the   
wound...with the pain he was feeling, an infinite number of counter-spells would not  
successfully block the attack, let alone the one he could possibly manage. And he   
was a sorcerer... she was not.  
Closing her eyes, Sailor Polaris focused all her energy on the Raider.   
"Starry Sky..."  
The dark-haired woman gulped and looked at the Starlit Prince. "Die!" she   
called, stabbing at him with the sword.   
He tried to dodge it, but didn't make it fast enough and got hit in the arm   
with the sword.  
Something inside of Chibi-Star snapped in seeing him get hurt. "SHATTER!" she   
yelled, tears running down her cheeks as she saw her friend get hurt.   
"SMASH!" called Polaris, still concentrating on the young Raider.  
Razor sharp, golden glass rained down.  
And giant ball of stardust collected on the ceiling, readying itself to fall.  
Greed looked up and saw what was coming. A tear ran down her face. "I love   
  
you, Death!" she screamed as the ball hit her.  
He resisted the urge to call out to her and faded away in a flash of black.  
Sailor Moon emerged from her spot at the back of the theater with a slight   
smile. "Good job, you three," she proudly said to them. "I'm impressed."  
The Starlit Prince staggered to his feet and looked at the rapidly   
disintegrating body of the Raider. "You did very well. And, you saved my life."  
"Two for two," beamed Moon, smoothing her blue skirt. "Good."  
"I must go now," the Prince said, pulling a rose out and handing it to Sailor   
Chibi-Star. "This cut's pretty bad." He walked out the exit, clutching his arm all   
the while.  
"Poor guy," observed Polaris with a sigh. She then turned to Sailor Moon.   
"Now, would you like to explain what you were doing here?"  
Moon blushed and fingered a pink pigtail. "Well, I meant it innocently   
enough..." she sighed nervously.  
Placing her purple rose behind her ear, Sailor Chibi-Star left the Scouts to   
argue.   
"Maybe," she said to herself, "it's better like this."  
************  
  
Susan looked at the moon sparkling over Crystal Tokyo. Though the Palace was   
halfway across the city, it sparkled with a powerful magnificence that made tears   
come to her eyes.  
"Sets," Terrence softly said, "for the past month, you've been getting sick,   
eating minimally, abstaining from all alcohol-including vintage red wine, which you   
adore-and craving things you hate..."  
"Like sauerkraut, eggplant, and pickled beats," she sighed, completely sober.   
He nodded. "And, not to be rude, but you've gained weight."  
Idly stroking her stomach, the Guardian of Time took off her glasses. "What   
I'm about to say is going to change a lot of things, Terry. I know that, and that's   
why I've been avoiding it..." she trailed off and wiped a tear from her cheek. "But   
this won't be easy."  
He smiled sadly and wrapped an arm around her waist. "Whatever you have to   
tell me, please do..." He looked at her with concern and love in his green eyes.   
"Oh, Sets, you mean the world to me, dear one. I don't say it, but I do love you..."  
"Terrence," she attempted, swallowing, "don't make this harder for me than it   
already is."  
He sighed and kissed the top of her head. "No matter what, Susan, I'll still   
be by your side."  
She looked to the sky last time. "Terrence, I... no, WE'RE... pregnant."  
Taking a deep breath, he nervously ran a hand through his brown hair. "Is that  
all?" he sarcastically asked. "And I thought that it was a big deal."  
"Oh, please don't kid, Terry... this is serious!" she told him, knotting her   
brow. "I'm scared!" Another tear ran down her face. "I don't know how to become a   
parent!"  
He nodded. "And neither do I. But, no matter what, dear one, I'm here for   
you."  
Susan sighed. "I could not ask for more."  
************  
  
"You leave and I stay?" Phoebe asked, staring at her parents in shock. "So   
that's how it's going to work? You're going to abandon me?"  
Amy sighed deeply. "It's not like that," she told the girl. "We'll use   
teleportation to visit regularly, and with Orb here, I'm sure you'll be fine."  
"I need you!" she protested. "I want to go with you! I'm a Scout now, but I   
don't know how to be a Scout! You've got to be here for me!" Tears ran down her   
cheeks. "Don't leave!"  
"My whole life, I lived in the shadows of people who were better than I.   
Instead of living to be me, I swam for everyone else." She looked into the ice blue   
eyes of one girl. One child. One daughter who would always wonder if her mother did   
the right thing. "Phoebe," she choked, "swim for yourself this time. Do this on your  
own, and all the world will follow."  
Greg nodded, standing slowly. "And, someday in the future, people will   
remember Phoebe Solaria Urawa... Not for being a follower, but swimming in her own   
sea."  
She wiped away tears. "But... Mom, Dad..."  
The doctor smiled. "Hey, Orb," she called to the orange cat who was sitting on  
the kitchen counter. "Take good care of her for us."  
The cat nodded.  
"We'll visit next week, dear... Promise..." were the last words Amy said   
before she and Greg disappeared in a flash of sparkling blue light.  
It was upon those words that Phoebe crumpled to the floor, sobbing.  
************  
  
"Bye, Brian!" called Hannah, waving. "See you tomorrow!"  
Driving away, the young man blew her a kiss.   
Hannah walked inside and looked at her mothers with a grin.   
"That went well," observed Alexandra, clad in sweatpants and a T-shirt.   
"Except for that entire thing about mistaking me for a male."  
Laughing, Michelle put away her violin. "I think we should do this more   
often." She smiled. "I like that Brian boy, Hannah."  
The young woman flushed. "Don't give me the 'time to settle down' speech,   
Mom," she protested. "I really am not ready for it."  
"I wasn't going to," Michelle calmly told her daughter. "I was just going to   
say I like him."  
The blonde woman nodded. "And apple pie flambé isn't too bad, you know," she   
laughed.   
Slowly, softly, Susan walked into the living room and rested a hand on her   
stomach. "He still cares about me," she told them with a sigh.  
"What?" asked Michelle, raising an eyebrow.  
"We've decided to hold off on all actions beyond telling Serenity and   
Endymion, but we're still going to date," she stated quietly, laying on the couch.   
"And I finally was able to smile about the baby..."  
The aquamarine haired woman grinned wistfully at Alex. "A baby..." she cooed.  
"Do you want a baby or what?" Alex snapped, confusion covering her face.   
"Pick an opinion and stick with it!"  
Just then, there was an orange and silver flash of light and Sailor Comet   
appeared in the Ten'ou household's living room. "Damn, I hate it when stuff like   
this happens!" she muttered, pulling her locket away from the orange bow and   
untransforming.   
"What's wrong?" Michelle's green eyes were dark with worry.  
Haley shook her head. "The theater was empty except for a rather nasty pile of  
moon dust," she grumbled, throwing herself onto a chair. "Never again do I ditch a   
family dinner in order to answer a locket alert." She sighed deeply and rubbed her   
temples. "So, what'd I miss?"  
"Brian knows about us," Alexandra responded. "He's one quick kid."  
"And Terrence knows about the baby, but still wants to date me," Susan said to  
her niece.   
Haley smiled. "Well, that's good, I guess."  
"Guess?" repeated Hannah.   
"Well, I would have LOVED to see Terrence's face," she grinned.  
And she was promptly beamed by a sofa pillow.  
************  
  
The moon shone down on the indoor pool as Phoebe finished her fourth lap in   
the cool, clear water. Sighing deeply, she dove deep under the water one last time,   
letting it wash over her hair and face like a warm spring breeze.   
Coming slowly to the surface, she looked through the skylight and at the   
twinkling stars that shone down on her. It really was a wonderful world to live in.  
"Miss," a voice came from the doorway. "Miss, the pool's closing in five   
minutes."  
She smiled and looked at the janitor. He was a gray-haired, elderly man with   
sparkling brown eyes. "Thanks," she called to him, climbing out of the pool.  
He smiled back at her. "Rumor has it that the Mistress of Mercury used to swim  
at this very pool," he volunteered. "And, if I didn't know better, I'd say you could  
pass as her."  
She blushed a bit. "Thank you. That's a very kind thing to say." Grabbing her   
red towel, she cocked her head at the man. "Do you happen to know why the Mistress   
used to swim here?"  
He shrugged thoughtfully. "Some people say that she and the Mistress Neptune   
had an on-going race. But, some people-me included, tell it different." He leaned   
against his broom. "She wanted to be something beyond expectations, and maybe-just  
maybe-swimming was her escape." Turning, he started walking away.  
Phoebe stopped him. "Sir!" she called. "Sir, I don't know who you are, but   
thank you."  
Turning around, he cocked his head at her. "Now, why do you say that?"  
"My parents just moved away, and so now I'm living alone," she explained, her   
grin turning a bit sad. "And you just... Well, whatever you said just felt extremely  
right, sir." Phoebe grabbed her bag. "Mistress Mercury once said that she 'swam for   
everyone else'..." The teen wrung some water out of her hair. "I just realized that,  
for the first time, I swam for me."  
"Good for you," the janitor smiled, nodding in approval. He walked Phoebe to   
the door in silence, with nothing more than a unique smile on his wrinkled face.  
As Phoebe left, he looked at her, more thoughtfully this time. "Hey, kid," he   
called after her.  
She looked at him, ice blue eyes sparkling.  
"I knew from the moment I saw you that you were Amy's girl," he told her.   
"Don't ever lose hope. It's out there."  
Phoebe smiled knowingly at him, and then started home.  
************  
  
Galactic Sailors... NO! PHOEBE... Says  
  
Phoebe: Today, I went through my fair share of troubles. But I learned a whole lot   
about myself. Things that, for some reason, no one else understood.  
  
Haley: (entering) That's great, but can we PLEASE mention the fact that I had a very  
amusing dinner party at my house?  
  
Phoebe: (whining) But TODAY'S episode was supposed to focus on me and my personal   
problems! Did we all forget that?  
  
Haley: (stick out her tongue) Well, how many people are going remember your swimming  
obsession instead of remembering my funny words to our close friend Brian?  
  
Tara: (entering) What about my desperate lack of screen time? Come on, people! Even   
Serenity got more fame!  
  
Reeny: (entering and nodding emphatically) Yeah! And there was some major-and   
patented, may I add-Butler Plot Underdevelopment in that whole me and Tara thing.  
  
Phoebe: (rolls eyes) Whatever.  
  
Ken: (entering) Come on, people. Richard's mother, who was minor character   
throughout the original run of Sailor Moon, got more lines in one scene than I did   
in my whole appearance...  
  
Orb: (entering) Which included one scene. Thank you.  
  
Artemis: (entering) Yeah? Well this is my first line in this story. Period.  
  
(All others groan in defeat)  
  
Melvin: (entering) Roll credits.  
  
-I Know-  
Look around...  
(Tara, sitting next to Queen Serenity, stares up at the night sky)  
So many things aren't clear...  
(Phoebe looks blankly at a math book)  
Don't worry, though...  
(Lyra smiles while picking up her tuba)  
You know that I'll be there...  
(Sailor Pluto and Haley smile knowingly at each other)  
A lot of things are so uncertain...  
(Alice looks sadly at a clock while the sun sets over Crystal Tokyo)  
The future's on its way...  
(Reeny holds the Locket of the Moon, smiling)  
Look at my crying eyes...  
(Luna and Artemis console an upset Diana)  
Don't take your love away!  
(Hannah sighs, looking at a sleeping Haley)  
  
Sometimes, the road looks long...  
(Mina looks at her children with Andrew behind her)  
And sometimes, the world seems wrong...  
(Alex and Michelle smile at one another and then blush deeply)  
But I know, I know, all you need is love.  
(The six girls, untransformed, hold their lockets high)  
  
Sometimes, you feel weak...  
(Lita smoothes the hair of a crying Alice)  
And sometimes, the future looks bleak...  
(Raye and Chad stand behind Tara, who is staring at her locket)  
But I know, I know, all you need is love.  
(The six Galactic Sailors stand in a half circle)  
  
Times will change...  
(Amy looks out of a window and at Crystal Palace)  
People will change, too...  
(Endymion looks at Serenity, who is pouring over a book)  
But deep inside...  
(Lyra hugs Celeste)  
I always will love you...  
(Diana falls asleep on Reeny's lap)  
I suppose there are questions now...  
(Alice and Phoebe stare blankly at one another)  
The answers are so far...  
(Michelle stands in front of the orchestra, talking)  
But look at me and smile now...  
(Tara lovingly hugs her father)  
I am your guiding star!  
(Haley smiles at a studying Hannah)  
  
Sometimes, the road looks long...  
(Mina looks at her children with Andrew behind her)  
And sometimes, the world seems wrong...  
(Alex and Michelle smile at one another and then blush deeply)  
But I know, I know, all you need is love.  
(The six girls, untransformed, hold their lockets high)  
  
Sometimes, you feel weak...  
(Lita smoothes the hair of a crying Alice)  
And sometimes, the future looks bleak...  
(Raye and Chad stand behind Tara, who is staring at her locket)  
But I know, I know, all you need is love.  
(The six Galactic Sailors stand in a half circle)  
  
I know...  
(The Planet Mistresses stand in a circle)  
I know...  
(The Galactic Sailors stand in a circle)  
All you need is love...  
(The Mistresses and Sailors all stand together, holding hands, with their eyes   
closed)  
All you need...is...love...  
(A single purple rose sits in a vase)  
************  
  
We would like to thank Thanksgiving, for allowing us enough time off of school to   
sit around, finish this, and draw up numerous plots-both for this and next (that's   
right...NEXT) season. We hope you have enjoyed this wonderful walk through the world  
of the Galactic Sailors.  
Your over-active, homework-hating divas,  
-Kate and Christina  
  
"Heroes get remembered, but legends never die." -The Sandlot   



	6. Old Friends and New Beginnings

Old Friends and New Beginnings  
  
Author's Ramblings:   
Kate: This story is story 6. Christina: Wow. Kate: We're very happy to be here.   
Christina: Speak for yourself. I want to be at home. Kate: You are at home.   
Christina: Shut up! Kate: So, please enjoy this story. Christina: We hope you hate   
it. Kate: Someone's in a cynical mood today. Christina: I'm not cynical. I'm never   
cynical. I'm happy and cheerful. You want cynical? I'll give you cynical. Kate:   
(softly) She's just jealous because I beat her on the math test.  
  
Disclaimer:   
Kate: Sailor Moon is not ours. Christina: Sure it is. They just don't know it yet.   
Kate: Seriously. It's not ours. Christina: Yes, it is. I bought it this morning. Off  
the stock exchange. Online. For only eight dollars a trade. Kate: It belongs to   
Naoko. Christina: No, it doesn't! It belongs to me! Christina Gifford. Kate: (rolls   
eyes and continues to work on story)  
************  
  
THE STORY SO FAR:  
Susan is pregnant. With Terrence's baby, and Terrence knows it.Hannah   
introduced Brian-her boyfriend-to her family, and he was a big success. Amy and Greg  
moved to Boston, leaving Phoebe and Orb alone in the household. Lyra went on a date   
with Richard, but it was interrupted by both Reeny and Celeste's antics and by a   
Raider attack. Greed died.  
And that, my friends, is where the story begins...  
************  
  
"Hey, Orb, where'd this come from?" Phoebe picked the cream-colored envelope   
off the table and ran her fingers over the black script on it. In a flowery, cursive  
scrawl, it read...  
"Phoebe Solaria Urawa, the Galactic Guardian of the Sun," the orange cat,   
jumping onto the kitchen counter. "I was impressed, too. I didn't think that   
Serenity had the guts." He shrugged. "Oh, well..."  
She flipped a braid behind her left shoulder. "What... what IS this?" she   
asked curiously.   
Orb rolled his golden eyes. "For being eighteenth at your school, Pheebs,   
you're pretty dense." He shook his head as she made a grievous face. "Open it and   
find out!"  
"I don't see how it's fair," she observed while she ripped it open, "that you   
know the contents of MY mail while I have not a clue."  
He stuck out his pink tongue at her. "You'll be happy to know that I   
recognized the stationary this time."  
"THIS TIME?" Her eyes grew wide as she looked at the cat. "You've previously   
committed mail fraud?"  
Orb gulped. "Not fraud, per say..." he guiltily said to his charge. "It just   
so happened that the letter your cousin Zelda sent you looked mighty interesting..."  
She gasped, but not at the cat's words. At the card before her.  
"Phoebe Solaria, you are cordially invited to the Royal Gala and Ball at   
Crystal Palace," she read aloud, ice blue eyes filled with shock. "Also invited is   
your date or companion of choice." Skimming the rest of it, Phoebe let a goofy grin   
cross her face. "This is SO neat, Orb! I've never been so amazed in my entire life!"  
The cat smiled sweetly. "Your date is taken care of, by the way," he told her   
evilly.  
"I have to buy a dress, get my hair done, call Mom and Dad..." Hearing the   
cat's words, she froze. "What?"  
Jumping from the green counter and onto the solid oak table, he looked into   
her eyes and then proceeded to smirk. "Alice is in the same bind," he informed her.   
"You have to take this adorable Moon Cat I know..."  
Phoebe looked at him and groaned.  
************  
  
"Crista's coming to Tokyo for a week!" Haley exclaimed in complete elation,   
waving the bright stationery in the air.   
Rolling her purple eyes through black-rimmed glasses, Hannah sighed. "Not that  
snotty rich kid from Los Angeles again," she groaned, turning the page in her   
chemistry book. "Last time she was here, Alex nearly strangled her, and Michelle   
was only an inch away from kicking Crista out onto the street."  
"That was years ago!" Haley defended, wrinkling her nose. "I'm sure Crista got  
better..."  
"Crista?" Alex walked into the room with a look of pure horror on her face.   
"Not that blonde-haired, blue-eyed beach bunny again!" she protested, looking at her  
daughter with fear in her green eyes. "Don't tell me she's boarding here..."  
"What's so bad about Crista?" asked an amazed Haley. "You guys are so   
judgmental..."  
Coming down the stairs with a laundry basket, Michelle looked thoughtfully at   
her younger daughter. "We are not being judgmental," she assured the teen. "We're   
being...cautious..." She shrugged and proceeded down the other flight of stairs.  
"Yeah," agreed Alex, sipping her coffee. "After all, we don't want to kill   
your childhood best friend..."  
Hannah couldn't control herself and burst out laughing.  
Sticking her nose proudly into the air, Haley let out a dignified grunt.   
"Well, I'm taking Crista to the Royal Gala and Ball," she announced. "And you can't   
stop me."  
Her sister's eyes grew wide, and she wiped the smirk from her face. "What did   
you just say?" she asked in doubt.   
"You heard me," Haley retorted.  
Alex shook her head. "I don't believe you..." She gasped a bit, surprised.   
"For goodness' sake, can you believe the disaster that would cause?"  
"I get to take my companion of choice," she said simply. "Why should it matter  
to you who exactly it is?"  
"Because we'll kill her!" Hannah exclaimed. "That girl is the biggest..."  
"Who?" Susan asked, coming up from the basement. She looked rather tired. "Who  
are you all talking-loudly-about about?"  
Alexandra sighed. "Haley's little pink beach bunny, Crista."  
Susan nodded and sat down on the couch, next to Hannah. "You don't like her?"  
"Not in the least," Hannah sighed, looking up at her aunt.  
Alex sipped more coffee, shaking her head. "I'd rather go on a date with   
Endymion..."  
"Not completely," admitted Michelle, coming up the stairs with her laundry   
basket.   
Everyone stared at her-Susan in curiosity and the others all in disbelief.  
"Crista's rude and stuck up," the musician clarified. "And I don't think that   
she's a good influence on our daughter. But that's not Crista's fault, and I will   
not blame her." She shrugged and looked at the wide-eyed group. "What?"  
"I didn't know you felt that way," Alexandra told her. "Now I feel bad... I   
probably hurt your-or someone else's- feelings by talking like that."  
Michelle smiled and stifled a laugh. "Never stopped you before," she responded  
casually before mounting the stairs.  
************  
  
Lyra rapped lightly on the door of Celeste's bedroom. "Sweetie, are you in   
there?"  
All she heard was a depressed sniffle and a lot of shuffling.  
"Now, 'Leste," the older girl pressed, knocking again, "you can't stay in   
there forever." She sighed and shook her head. "Alright, I give up."  
A little voice called. "Come on in, Lyra."  
Walking in, Lyra ran a nervous hand through her curls. On the bunk bed, there   
was a rather upset Celeste who was fingering a purple rose.  
A purple rose? The blonde teen jumped nearly a mile into the air upon seeing it.   
Surely, the Starlit Prince... But, then...  
"What's wrong?" Lyra asked, sitting on the edge of the bed. "You look very   
upset..."  
She sniffled, but just shrugged. "Lyra, what if a really good friend of yours   
gets awful hurt? What are you supposed to do about it?" Looking up with tears in her  
bright green eyes, the little girl searched for her answer.  
"Well..." Seeing the prince in her mind's eye, Lyra gulped and took a deep   
breath. "All you have to do is hope, Celeste," she told her sister, smiling weakly.   
"Just hope."  
"Hope?" the girl asked in a full state of disbelief. "Works for you, doesn't   
it, Lyra? To sit with your ditzy group of friends and hope, just hope, that   
everything will turn out alright!" Celeste turned her back on her sister. "But what   
if hoping doesn't work?" Tears rolled down pale cheeks and began to soak the purple   
bed sheets. "What then?"  
Lyra bit her lip and sighed deeply. Thinking of the Prince one last time, she   
shrugged. "I don't know, Celeste. I just don't know." Letting out a deep breath, she  
smiled slightly. "Would you like to go to the Royal Ball with me?"  
"Take Richard," the littler girl spat, making a face.   
She laughed. "Richard is taking his mother, which leaves me dateless. And,   
since Ma and Daddy are already going..."  
Whirling around, Celeste looked at her and grinned widely. "Really?"  
"Really!" Lyra agreed, pulling the child onto her lap. "What do you say?"  
Celeste nodded, still stroking the purple bud. "Promise me one thing, though,"  
she softly said to her sister.   
"What's that?" The older Mokoti girl inquired, knotting her brow.   
Smiling impishly, Celeste giggled. "You have to do my hair," she told Lyra.  
************  
  
"A ball?" Raider Violence, a tall man whose clothing was bright red armor,   
rolled his eyes. "We're expected to go to a ball?"  
Doubt chortled and looked up from the briefings sheet. "Apparently so,   
Violence."   
From his seat next to the window, Death let out a long breath. "It sounds like  
a nice change of pace," he softly commented, staring down at Earth.  
"What?" asked Violence, looking at his colleague in a state of disgust. "A   
change of pace?"   
Death nodded, not saying anything. Staring down at Earth, he sighed   
mournfully.  
Shaking her head, the white-haired woman snorted in disapproval. "Ever since   
Greed died," she explained to Violence, "he's been moping around here like a love-  
sick puppy..." She trailed off, biting her lip.   
"This isn't easy for me, you know." Turning slowly in his chair, Death glanced  
at her, staring into her ebony eyes dully. "How would you like it if the one you   
loved died?"  
"I don't love anyone," she spat, tossing her hair around and turning from him.  
"How could I love any one of you?"  
Death sighed. "I guess that's what makes you second in command," he told her   
softly, smiling sadly. "That you've never loved, and are strong besides it."  
"You have no idea," she replied coolly before stalking out of the room and   
slamming the door behind her.  
************  
  
Closing the door slowly behind her, Alice threw her backpack on the couch.   
"Artemis!" she yelled, limping to the kitchen. "I'm home!"  
"Good!" the cat called after her, coming out of the computer room. "There's   
something we have to discuss."   
Sitting down in a wooden chair with a box of pop-tarts in one hand and an   
icepack in the other, she raised an auburn eyebrow. "What?" she inquired, putting   
the icepack on her swelling ankle.  
"It's about..." Looking at the girl's ankle, which was about three times its   
proper size, the white cat grimaced. "How did you do that?" Artemis asked, cocking   
his head to the side.   
She shook her head and opened a pack of Pop-Tarts. "It's the same old battle   
wound, I'm afraid," she informed the cat, giving him a piece of the pastry. "Now,   
what did you want to talk about?"  
"Oh, yeah!" he exclaimed after pausing to think. "You were invited to the   
Royal Gala and Ball."  
"Really?" Alice grinned and leaned back in her chair with a dreamy sigh.   
"Maybe there'll be a really cute guy who will fall for me..." She smiled, imagining   
her prince.  
Artemis shook his head with a sigh. Some things just never changed... "Stay on   
track," he told her with a bit of disdain in his voice. "This is important. Each and  
every Scout was invited, and so were all the Planet Mistresses..."  
"Mom? Cool!" Her chestnut eyes glimmered. "This will be so much fun..."  
Artemis rolled his blue eyes. "You're normally a good listener, Al..."  
"Sorry!" Alice blushed a little and closed her mouth.  
"Anyway," Artemis sighed, starting again, "you have to take me as your date."  
She glanced at the cat with wide eyes. "You're a cat, Art," she pointed out.   
"How can I take a cat to a ball?"  
"Easy," Artemis told her. "You dress up really nice, smile pretty, and I   
wander around and attempt to reconcile with my wife."  
Patting his head lightly, she smiled warmly at her pet. "Alright, I suppose...  
Just promise me one thing," she requested of the white animal.  
"And what's that?" he asked, a bit confused.  
Smiling evilly, Alice chuckled. "No dancing."  
************  
  
One of Tara's eyebrows shot into the air as she listened to her parents speak.  
"A Royal Ball? With royalty?" she asked in brazen shock. "A...ROYAL...Ball?"  
"No, a paper airplane ball," Chad retorted, rolling his brown eyes. After Tara  
groaned, he continued. "Of course it's a Royal Ball, dear... And you're expected to   
go."  
"But Father!" Tara pleaded, looking at him with begging green eyes. "I really   
don't feel comfortable around royalty..."  
Raye snorted indignantly. "You spent four days with the Princess," she   
reminded the teen.  
Crinkling her nose, Tara tugged on a strand of hair, as she had a habit of   
doing. "That was different. I've seen Reeny eat eighteen cookies in five minutes."  
"It's different," the shaggy-haired man informed her, "because you don't see   
Reeny as royalty. You see Reeny as a person."  
"Besides," put in Raye. "You're a Galactic Sailor."  
"Sailor or not," Tara shot at him, "I'm not going to a silly ball."  
Raye groaned, rolling her purple eyes. "You will go to the ball, and that is   
final!" she shouted at her daughter. "I don't care if you like royalty or not! This   
is a big deal for the Mistresses and the Scouts!"  
"It's silly!" the girl shot back, face growing red. "You're acting as stubborn  
as a...a fat mule!"  
This insult was too much for the tempered Priestess. "I've had enough of you!"  
she yelled, fuming. "In one week, you will be at the Royal Ball, and that's that!"  
Sticking her nose high into the air, thirteen-year-old Tara Yuuichirou stalked  
out of the kitchen.  
Chad looked at his eternally young wife. "Are you sure that you're doing the   
right thing?"  
"And if I'm not?" she shot back, flipping a silken stream of ebony-violet hair  
behind her shoulder. Anyone could tell that she was still upset about the entire   
incident with the ball, and her mannerisms showed it.  
"Good point," he responded timidly, groaning inwardly. "Good point."  
************  
  
Opening the front door, Susan let Terrence inside. "Hello," she politely said,  
one hand plastered to her forehead.  
"Some greeting," he jokingly told her, walking in and closing his umbrella.   
"There's one Hell of a storm raging out there, dear one."  
From her seat next to the piano bench, Alex snorted. Her blonde hair was   
dripping water onto the floor, and the front of her white T-shirt was soaked   
through. "Tell me about it," she agreed, sipping a cup of tea. "I went out for five   
minutes and got drenched. Not only that," she added causally, sighing, "but I   
discovered that my raincoat is defective."  
"She should really try zipping it," volunteered Haley from her seat at the   
piano.   
Rolling her green eyes, Alexandra turned away from the couple and towards the   
teen. "Now, pick up in measure forty, and I expect you to actually use this   
wonderful thing called dynamics..."  
Susan walked into the kitchen as the strains of piano music began once again.   
"I'm sorry if I seem cranky," she apologetically told the young man. "Haley's been   
playing piano since noon, and I've got an awful headache on top of that..."  
"That's nice," he commented, opening the fridge and shuffling around in it,   
"but I have to ask you something."  
Feeling her heart skip a beat, Susan clutched the dishrag she had been wiping   
the table with. Since they had first talked about the baby, Terrence had been more   
loving, considerate, gentle, and sincere around her. Could he be who she so hoped   
for? Her prince?  
"As you may or may not know," he nonchalantly pointed out, "the Royal Ball and  
Gala is in three days."  
She felt her heart plummet. "Really?" she softly inquired, hoping he didn't   
see the tears of disappointment welling in her eyes. "I had forgotten..."  
He sighed, shaking his head. "No, you didn't," he informed her, pulling his   
head out of the fridge and running a hand through his brown hair. "You knew it and   
just didn't want to bring it up..."  
"Serenity doesn't know about..." Her voice was practically a whisper as she   
softly laid a hand on her own stomach.   
Strolling over to Susan, Terrence lifted up her chin and stared straight into   
two large, sparkling garnet eyes. "Sets," he assured her softly, lips only a few   
centimeters from hers, "you are the only one for me. Will you go to the Royal Gala   
and Ball with me?"  
"But...you're a Prince..." she stammered, gulping back tears. "And I'm   
just..."  
"The Queen of Pluto." He touched his forehead to hers. "I'm a lesser noble   
than you are." Smiling impishly, he let their lips meet.  
Nodding a bit, she smiled her mysterious half-smile. "You win, love," she told  
him before allowing a kiss to draw her in once again.  
************  
  
"I can't wait!" Reeny exclaimed, whirling around the long silver and white   
gown she had purchased. "It's going to be so much fun! And I will look so absolutely  
gorgeous!"  
Diana groaned. "Or, you'll look like an idiot."  
"Shut up, you stupid cat!" the Princess yelled at her pet, throwing one of her  
slippers at the pet. "You're such a brat, sometimes!"  
"Only when I want to be," she informed the teen with a wicked grin on her   
furry pink face. "When I want to be, I'm quite loving and smart."  
Reeny rolled her red eyes and shook her head. "Only in my wildest fantasies,   
perhaps..." she muttered softly.  
"Heard that" was the cat's casual response.  
Suddenly, there was a knock at the door, and Haley Ten'ou walked in, another   
girl right behind her.  
The second girl, a tall, thin blonde, stared at the Princess of the Earth with  
wide blue eyes. She was wearing a tight, short pink skirt with a white tank top and   
looked ill-prepared for the harsh Tokyo fall weather that was going to hit in a   
matter of days.  
"Hello?" Reeny asked, looking at her friend and then at the beach-bunny who   
had just wandered in.  
The strange teen spoke. "I didn't believe Haley, but it's true... It's really,  
really true..." Bowing, she cleared her throat. "My name is Crista Akubo, and I'm   
Haley's childhood best friend."  
Raising an eyebrow, Reeny gingerly placed her silver dress on the bed. "Never   
heard of you," she told Crista.  
"Well, duh," Crista responded, rising and smiling. "I'm from Los Angeles!" She  
looked at the Princess, biting a lip. "You're not as pretty as Haley said you were."  
Gritting her teeth, Reeny played with a pink pigtail. "At least Haley actually  
talks about me."  
"Down Reeny," muttered Diana in a tone that only the Princess could hear.  
"Reen..." grumbled the brown-haired teen from her spot across the room.   
"Temper, temper..."  
Crista shook her head, golden tresses bouncing from side to side flirtatiously.  
"And your hair is pink," she observed in a haughty tone, still grinning. "You must   
be adopted."  
This comment sent the usually tolerant girl's temper through the roof. "Why,   
you little! I ought to use the Silver Imperium Crystal on you!" Her voice was cold   
and angry. "In fact, if you weren't so close to Haley, I probably would!"  
"You're just a stupid Princess!" Crista shot back, blue eyes gleaming evilly.   
"I've probably dated more boys than you've ever looked at!"  
"Crista!" scolded Haley, glaring scornfully at her friend. "Leave Reeny   
alone!"  
"She started it," claimed Crista, stalking out of the room and into the   
hallway.  
Reeny growled. "You come back here and say that to my face, you beach-bunny!"  
The forgotten pink cat cleared her throat. "Do us all a favor and be quiet,"   
she told the Princess. "You're going to get in a lot of trouble with your mother if   
you're not careful."  
"I'd rather be in a pit with Galaxia than around that little toad," she   
muttered under her breath.  
Haley looked at the ground apologetically. "I'm sorry about that, Reen," she   
said softly. "I thought that Crista would like to see you."  
"That's just the thing," admitted Reeny. "I was expecting someone that you   
hang out with to be a lot nicer. Maybe I was wrong..."  
"Maybe my family was right," thought the brunette aloud.  
"Hmm?"  
"Nothing." Haley looked up, teal eyes gleaming with unshed tears. "I'm sorry."  
"So am I," Reeny told her. "So am I."  
************  
  
"What," Alexandra commented in a dry tone, "is this?"  
"A ball gown," replied Michelle, trying to get her aquamarine earrings on.   
"Now, if you don't hurry, we'll be..."  
"We've had this conversation before," the blond spat, looking at the gown with  
much suspicion. "I don't like dresses."  
The musician rolled her eyes, smoothing the lavender material of her own gown.  
"Spare me the 'man power' lecture if you would and slip on your gown, will you?" She  
continued fiddling with her earrings.  
"But, Michi," pleaded Alex, staring at the navy gown. "It's blue, and it's   
all...puffy..."  
"If you really want," responded the aqua haired musician, "I can go back to   
the store right now and get you a skin-tight neon-pink gown."  
Rolling her eyes, the taller woman removed the dress from the hanger. It was   
beautiful and elegant, no doubt about that-the skirt section of it sparkled as the   
light hit it, and just the tiniest bit of golden trim showed around the edges.  
"I don't get it," she commented, staring at the dress with wide green eyes.   
"How do you always know exactly what type of stuff will draw me in?"  
"Because I love you," Michelle warmly remarked, throwing a pair of pantyhose   
at her one and only.  
************  
  
"We're going to be late!" Hannah paced up and down the length of her living   
room, staring at the wall clock.  
From his seat on the couch, her boyfriend sighed and adjusted his bow tie.   
"You worry to much," Brian assured her, letting his own copper eyes fall on the very  
same clock. "Drinks don't start for an hour."  
Haley, who was lounging around comfortably in her tuxedo skirt and white dress  
shirt, sighed. "Crista has been in the bathroom for two hours," she muttered,   
obviously worried. "I hope she's okay."  
"And what if she's not?" asked Susan in a very sarcastic tone. In only a   
week's time, the blonde visitor had managed to get on the Guardian of Time's bad   
side... Not a good place to be, noted Haley with a half-smirk. "Will we miss her?"  
"I'm starting to think I won't even miss her." The brunette girl sighed.   
"She's not an easy person to get along with."  
"And you're telling us this?" Hannah, whose hair was full off gentle curls for  
the occasion, smoothed the skirt of her enormous purple gown. "No one likes the   
kid!"  
"She even managed to piss Reeny off," Terrence observed, clad in a white   
tuxedo. "I've never seen someone manage that! Not even I can piss Reeny off!"  
"Thank you for your vote of confidence," said a high voice. The click of high-  
heels on tile was all too familiar as Crista entered the room, wearing a skin-tight   
pink gown with matching shoes. "You guys are cruel, you know that?" Her eyes   
sparkled as she glanced at Brian. Smiling shyly, she walked over to the couch and   
sat next to the blonde. "But I forgive you."  
Hannah bristled and her boyfriend, who had scooted to the opposite end of the   
couch, groaned audibly.  
"We're going to be late!" called Michelle, coming down the stairs in her   
familiar lavender gown. "Now cut it out!"  
"They'll laugh..." whined Alexandra's voice.   
Michelle rolled her eyes, sighing. "You look really, really great, love," she   
assured her girlfriend. "Now, will you please come down the stairs so that we can go  
to the Ball?"  
"You promise they won't laugh, Michi?" asked a nervous Alex.  
"Cross my heart and hope to gag myself," she muttered, looking to Hannah and   
Haley for support.  
"Yeah, Mom," Hannah said in a reassuring tone, wondering what was wrong. "We   
won't laugh at all, promise..."   
"Whatever," sighed Haley, smiling evilly.  
Slowly, deliberately, Alexandra walked down the stairs. Her gown was a   
strapless, navy outfit that was tight until the waist and then suddenly flared out   
into soft, cascading waves of fabric. Extremely form-flattering, the gown and its   
golden the trimming that shimmered ever-so-slightly in the pale lamplight.  
There was a gasp from each of the two men in the room as they focused on the   
tall blonde in the ball gown. Neither knew quite what to say.  
Susan and Hannah glanced at one another in blatant disbelief, not saying   
anything. Crista was too busy staring at Brian to notice Alexandra's sudden   
appearance--and change thereof.   
The brunette girl with the chipper disposition stared at her mother with wide   
teal eyes. Never before had she seen the Mistress of Uranus look so...gorgeous...so   
feminine...  
For that reason, Haley burst out laughing.  
"Told you so," muttered Alex, blushing considerably.  
Kicking her sister, Hannah rolled her purple eyes. "Ignore her, Mom... You   
look great."  
Rolling out of her chair and onto the hardwood floor, the teen kept giggling,   
her laughter becoming more raucous and hysterical with every breath she took in.   
"But...she looks so...funny!"  
The Guardian of Time looked down at her own black and crimson gown of a   
similar style with a slight grimace. "Well, you do," she admitted to her friend,   
"but that's also because you look better than all the rest of us."  
"Speak for yourself," huffed Crista as she haughtily fluffed her blonde hair.   
"I'm the prettiest one here."  
Terrence sighed, shaking his head. "As Sets said, you beat them all."  
Michelle just nodded.  
"Never again," muttered the blonde, grabbing her car keys. "Never again."  
************  
  
Alice was bustling about the kitchen, nervously double-checking her fancily   
done hair in the mirror. Her gown was rather boring--just a pale blue, open-backed   
gown with little beads sown into the top part. Nothing special.  
As she walked toward the kitchen table, where her locket lay, discarded, she   
saw it.  
A note.  
Picking the white sheet of paper on it, the teen stared at the blue block   
letters that had quickly become so familiar in so little time.  
She stared at the haphazard signature that ended the letter.  
Tears came into chocolate eyes of a heartbroken girl as she read aloud the   
words.   
"'I cannot stay here, Lita. I cannot become a part of Alice's life so   
suddenly...so surprisingly,'" she read, a tear running down her cheek. "'How can I   
expect her to love me? I am her father, but you...you are her mother, savior, and   
guiding star. I am an old friend, Lita... And she is our new beginning.'" Unable to   
finish the letter, Alice balled the paper up and threw it to the floor. "Never   
again," she cried, voice wavering as her entire body trembled in hurt, "do I so much  
as look at Ken. Never again do I let that man into my life."  
Standing as tall as the situation allowed, Alice walked out of the kitchen to   
find Artemis...  
And to go to the ball.  
************  
  
"Happy? We're in." Violence made a face and smoothed the fabric of his blood-  
red tuxedo. "Never mind the fact that I look like a royal idiot."  
Sighing, Death flipped an ebony strand of hair from in front of his dark eyes.  
No words described the power and pain he felt as he stared at a few of the graceful   
dancers that had already taken the floor. "The Princess will be here."  
"Which one?" asked Violence mockingly, sneering. "You seem to think there are   
two..."  
"I don't think it," came the calm response. "I just feel it."  
Holding his head high, the red-clothed Raider stalked off to the refreshment   
table.  
Laughing silently, Death looked around the room. None of the people there   
looked all too familiar...  
Until his eyes came to rest on a tiny girl with two blonde braids cascading   
down her back and a taller girl with curly hair. Something about them sent a shiver   
up his spine.  
"Greed..." he whispered to himself, staring as the blonde child danced with   
the elder counter-part. "I will avenge you tonight."  
And then, he went to find Violence.  
************  
  
Plopping into a chair, Celeste took in a long breath. "This is so much fun,   
Lyra!" she announced, playing with the big purple bow on her gown of the same color.   
"Isn't this fun?"  
The teen scanned the room, looking for either her own mother or for Richard.   
None of the royalty and nobles there were people she recognized, with the possible   
exception of on dark-haired man in a dark suit. Something about him nagged her, and   
she had to consciously focus in order to shake the déjà vu off. "Yeah...fun..." she   
half-heartedly said, playing with a curly hair. "Really fun."  
"Lyra! Lyra!" called two familiar voices from behind her.  
She smiled as two teens--one in a dark orange spaghetti-strap dress that could  
best be described as weird and one in a tasteful, long sleeved, light green linen   
dress that was rather dull--ran up to her, grinning wildly. Phoebe's blue hair was   
intertwined with orange ribbons that matched her gown, and Tara's long tresses were   
in some sort of neat, organized bun that was very fitting of her.  
"So," smirked the blue-haired girl as she evaluated the silky, shimmering   
golden orange gown her younger friend was wearing, "have you found Richard yet?"  
Lyra pouted but didn't say anything. Her facial expression said it all.  
Tara patted her friend on the shoulder. "Don't worry, Lyra," she told the   
blonde with a sympathetic grin. "I'm sure he'll be here soon enough..."  
"Yeah, in my wildest dreams," sarcastically snorted Lyra. "I'm beginning to   
think that Richard asked me out as part of some pity plan..."  
"Who?" inquired a nosy Haley, coming over to the group. "What'd I miss?"  
"Just Lyra feeling sorry for herself," put in Phoebe with a slight sigh.   
"Richard hasn't shown up yet."  
Haley's jaw dropped. "Poor baby!" she commented with very little sarcasm.   
Then, she smirked evilly. "Hey, guys, look over at Michelle and tell me what you   
see."  
The three other teens turned around, only to see a beautiful woman in an   
incredible navy gown with gold trim.   
"Oh, my God!" Phoebe stared, wide-eyed.  
"Is that who I think it is?" asked a very surprised Lyra.  
"Whoa," Tara managed. "That's Alexandra."  
Haley smiled. "Yep." Shifting her positions, she glanced again at Lyra. "So,   
kid," she prompted, "what's up with Richard?"  
Light brown eyes turned oddly sad as Lyra looked at the ground. "When we were   
at the movie, we...he was rather...uh...and I'm afraid that he doesn't like me!" she  
finally exclaimed, clenching her hands into fists. She let her eyes dart to the   
string quartet that was playing music, and she then glanced at the dance floor,   
where already both Tara's and Lyra's parents were dancing together gracefully. "I   
feel stupid," she muttered. "I figured he'd show up, sweep me off my feet, and treat  
me like a..." she trailed off as Haley's solemnly understanding face turned into a   
sly grin. The other two Scouts, who were also paying attention to their friend's   
words, smiled expectantly, too. "What?" Lyra demanded, raising an eyebrow. "What's   
so amusing?"  
Suddenly, two warm hands covered her eyes, blinding her. "Guess who," a   
familiarly deep male voice commanded gently, "and I'll give you the present I   
brought you."  
Lyra's frown grew quickly into smile as well. "How many guesses do I get?" she  
inquired.  
"Two," the voice permitted playfully.  
"Hmm..." She forged ignorance. "Batman?"  
She heard Tara, Phoebe, and Haley burst out into laughter and then all make   
excuses to leave. As they shuffled out of eyeshot, the voice picked up again. "One   
more try."  
"Richard Umino!" Lyra ducked under his hands and looked up into his azure   
eyes. "You'd better watch out," she warned in a flirty manner, batting her   
eyelashes. "My mother is here tonight."  
He gave her a kiss on the cheek. "Let her get worried," he teased playfully.   
"Let her freak out."  
She laughed sweetly, completely lost in the blue of his eyes and in the power   
of his smile. "You watch yourself," she smiled, unable to take her gaze from his.   
"My nosy friends are here, too."  
Richard's eyes darted to the corner where the three other teens were standing   
and, as though on some sort of demented cue, they all scattered to opposite ends of   
the room and busied themselves.   
"See what I mean?" Shaking her head, she sighed. "And my sister is here,   
too..."  
"Hi Richard!" Celeste popped up and attached herself to one of the young man's  
tuxedo-covered legs. "How are you today? Are you having fun?" She grinned evilly,   
winking at her eldest sister. "Are you going to kiss Lyra? Because, I heard her when  
she talked to Tara on the phone, and she said that..."  
"Okay, that's enough of that!" Alice, who looked very upset, suddenly appeared  
in the scene. Grabbing the little girl by the wrist, she glared at the curly-headed   
blonde. "I need to talk to you really soon," she whispered under her breath. "Okay?"  
Lyra nodded, still a bit red from what her sister had been saying. "Thanks,   
Al," she smiled.  
"Any time" was her friend's quick response.  
A bit confused, Richard held a hand out a purple rose to Lyra. As she tucked   
it behind her ear, he smiled. "Care to dance?"  
She timidly nodded and took his hand, wondering what Alice was so worried   
about.  
************  
  
Terrence and Susan stood, hand-in-hand, before the enormous marble door that   
led into Queen Serenity's parlor. No noise passed through the heavy air except the   
soft hiss of two people breathing in apprehension.  
"I here that Fiji is quite nice in the fall," murmured the young man softly,   
glancing over at the hunter-green-haired woman. "We could go live there for a few   
months..."  
"Four," came Susan's steady, strong response as her hand reached for the   
doorknob. "Four months."   
Terrence's green eyes grew enormous as his girlfriend's fingers landed on the   
golden metal of the handle. "Sets!" he yelped nervously.  
She resisted the urge to groan. "What?" she shot in an annoyed tone.   
"Whatever happens," he assured her, "I'll still love you."  
Smiling, Setsuna "Susan" Meiou opened the door to Queen Serenity's parlor.  
The young Queen sat in front of an enormous desk, her husband protectively   
standing behind her. Across from the royalty sat a middle-aged woman with wavy red   
hair and a huge blue ball gown on. Had Serenity's pigtails not been in curlers at   
the current time, the couple would have assumed the meeting to be formal.  
But the Queen's hair was in curlers.  
And the other woman was laughing as the two burst in.  
"Susan and Terrence, hello!" greeted Serenity, a smile crossing her delicate   
face. "It's so nice to see you!"  
Smoothing the folds in her crimson and black gown, Susan gulped nervously. "We  
didn't mean to interrupt, my Queen. We'll just..."  
It was Endymion who cut the Guardian of Time off. "Nonsense, Pluto--you're   
here at a fine time."  
The carrot-top woman nodded in agreement. "I was just on my way out, I assure   
you." Smiling, she stood up and took a glance at the young blonde who sat across the  
desk from her. "It was nice to see you again, Serena...Serenity," she faltered,   
blushing.  
"Susan Meiou, Terrence Chiba, meet Molly Umino." Standing, Serenity brushed a   
stray hair from her eyes. "Molly has known me since the sixth grade, Susan is the   
Guardian of Time, and Terrence is Endymion's younger brother."  
Molly took Susan's hand in hers and smiled kindly. "Bravery and strength will   
be needed in the future," she softly informed the woman, voice almost a whisper.   
"Especially when the future needs to be raised." Blue eyes sparkling, she turned to   
Terrence. "And you will have also to be brave, someday... For not only Susan's sake,  
but for the sake of people important in your life." Bowing slightly, she bustled out  
of the parlor, her words ominously hanging in the air.  
Wringing her hands, Susan smiled nervously. "Can we talk to you two?" she   
asked as soon as Molly had left.  
Serenity shrugged and made her way over to an old, beaten-up couch that had   
once been blue. "Of course, Susan," she said lovingly, eyes sparkling with love and   
caring. "What's wrong?"  
Susan bit her lip, and looked at Terrence apprehensively.  
************  
  
"Go away, already."  
Artemis chased quickly after the black moon-cat with a frown on his white   
face. "Please, Luna, can we just talk?"  
She stuck her nose in the air, but she did stop in her tracks. "Why do you   
want to talk so bad?" she softly asked, drawing her nose down so that her eyes met   
his. "I thought we went through this."  
"We did..." he admitted with a bit of guilt in his voice. "And, I try, I   
really do, but..." Sighing deeply, he looked up through one of the skylights and   
focused on the large, silver colored sphere called the moon. "Luna, I love you..."  
She shook his head. "You love Serenity, Endymion, Diana, Orb, and Reeny," the   
black cat informed him. "You love Mina and her children, and you love that   
girl...Alice, was it?" Luna looked at the same moon, a sad and mournful look passing  
over her face. "You forget, Artemis. You forget all we've won."  
He snorted. "Without you, I've won nothing, Luna."  
"Touching, but... No." Orange eyes flared slight sadness; the cat looked at   
her white counterpart. For years, he had been her constant thoughts, hopes, and   
dreams. But things had changed. Starting with Diana, things had really, really   
changed. Eventually, their fights had become destructive and began to border on   
cruel...   
"Everyone knew..." The white cat sighed and looked at his now-quiet female   
counterpart. "They knew that you didn't like me and that I still cared," he told the  
black cat. "But they thought we were Serenity and Endymion..."  
Luna shook her head. "No. They thought it was all real." Unshed tears   
glistened in her large eyes. "They thought that magic, and true love were real in   
every case on Earth... They thought that was the solution."  
"It is the solution, Luna!" he mewed, upset beyond belief. "And it most   
definitely real!"  
She shook her head. "There are old friends...us, for example." Screwing her   
face into an exasperated expression, she shook her head quickly. "Well, not exactly   
us, but the survivors of Silver Millennium in general." Choking back tears, she   
stood. "And there are new beginnings, Artemis. Orb, Diana, Reeny, Tara, Lyra,   
Phoebe, Alice, and Haley all make up the future. We, on the other hand, are part of   
the past..."  
"We're Moon Cats, Luna," he reminded her dryly. "We live for centuries upon   
centuries and longer."  
She smiled sadly. "No one and nothing lives forever, Artemis; this love was no  
exception." Shrugging ambiguously yet still blinking back tears, Luna walked down   
the marble hall, away from Artemis, away from the ballroom... In a symbolic way,   
Luna walked away from the past.   
And, for the first time since the Moon Kingdom ended, Artemis cried.  
************  
  
"Lyra? Are you okay?"   
The blonde girl blinked twice and glanced up at the gorgeous young man who had  
his arm wrapped around her waist. "Oh, nothing Richard..."  
Shaking his head, Richard leaned closer to Lyra. "I heard what Alice said to   
you," he whispered in a low tone so that no one else would hear. "And--though I'd   
like to keep you all to myself--I think it's a good idea for you to go have a girl   
talk before you trip over that gorgeous dress. All right?"   
Her brown eyes lit up with amazement. "Thank you so much!" she exclaimed,   
hugging him around the neck and nuzzling close. "This means the world to me!"  
Richard couldn't help but grin as she did. "And you are starting to mean that   
much to me, Lyra..." he told her, a more wistful smile replacing his giddy grin.   
She blushed a little and squeezed one of his hands before running off to the   
group of four teens.  
"That," commented a new voice, "is my bigger sister."  
Focusing his blue eyes on little Celeste, Richard couldn't help but smile. Her  
purple gown was too big, and her corn-colored hair was beginning to depart from the   
neat, perfect braids that had once hung on either side of her head. Still, she was   
an absolutely precious little girl. "She is."  
"Richard?" The precious child looked up at him with wide green eyes. "Do you   
love Lyra?"  
He chuckled and shrugged. "What is love, Celeste? It's caring, and it's   
concern, but it's really nothing that I don't already feel for all my friends."  
"You don't have a clue if you do or not, do you?" Her smile remained. "But,   
that's okay. I think you'll figure it out."  
"What does that mean?" he asked, stooping over so he could look straight at   
her, just as he had done at the pizza parlor that fateful day... The day a certain   
curly haired girl had asked for help with a sister and had gained a friend. "Do you   
know something I don't?"  
Celeste's grin grew. "Or are you just afraid to admit what YOU know?" she   
inquired innocently.  
Shaking his head, Richard chuckled again, more in disbelief than amusement.   
"May I have this dance, Celeste?"  
As he scooped her into his arms to "dance", the little girl looked out across   
the ballroom to where her older sister stood, talking with her friends and having   
fun.  
"You love her, Richard," Celeste whispered to herself so that he wouldn't   
hear. "And she...she just loves everyone."  
************  
  
Wringing her hands nervously, Susan gulped for about the sixth time in a   
minute. "Well you see, it's like this. Every Mistress has..." Shaking her head,   
Susan started again. "Well, um, there are some new things developing, and well,   
um..." Hearing Terrence's apprehensive sigh, Susan bit her lip and slowly closed her  
garnet eyes. "Serenity, I...WE..." Her hand found Terrence's and squeezed it   
tightly.  
"We're pregnant," he softly told the King and Queen of the Earth, staring at   
the carpeted floor.  
"WHAT?" Endymion's blue eyes grew to an unnatural size as he stared first at   
his brother and then at the Mistress of Pluto. "How could you do something so   
irresponsible and bull headed, Terrence? And...SUSAN..." He lowered his eyes sternly  
in her direction. "You can't take a child to the Gate of Time! Do either of you   
realize what bearing this has on the future?"  
"I'm the Guardian of Time," she reminded Endymion softly with a slight sob,   
cutting into the monologue of personal attacks. "Of course I know what this does..."  
Terrence looked at his brother through glaring green eyes. "We didn't plan   
this, Endymion," he snapped at him with resentment. "This was unexpected..."  
"No shit," shot back the suddenly standoffish King.   
Serenity bristled and stood. "Stop it, you two!" she yelled, annoyed. "Look   
what you're doing to Susan!"  
Indeed, the young woman had begun to cry and now sat with her knees to her   
chest, wailing helplessly. Her green hair hung limply off the couch and her glasses   
had fallen to the floor in a haphazard manner. "I...I didn't plan this..." she   
sniffled, looked up at both her boyfriend and then her King. "I didn't even sense   
this in the time/space continuum..." Standing on slightly shaky legs, the woman   
chuckled to herself. "But, then, what should it matter?" she questioned Endymion   
with tears running down her cheeks. "What should it matter? I obviously got pregnant  
on a malicious purpose just to spite you," she spat. "Some King you are! After all,   
I don't believe YOUR daughter was entirely planned!" Tossing her green hair, she   
stormed out of the parlor in anger, slamming the door behind her.  
Endymion gritted his teeth. "What was I saying?" he asked himself, wide-eyed.   
"What is wrong with me?"  
"It's called rage, dear," Serenity cooed, resting a hand on his upper arm. "It  
effects all of us. It effected you because of how much you worry about Terry."  
"I am a big boy, Endy," the younger man observed with a sad grin. "I can take   
care of myself." He shook his head a bit, chewing his lip.   
The dark-headed brother nodded. "You have been taking good care of yourself."  
"And you will for Susan, right?" Serenity urged.  
He nodded. "Can I go find her?"  
"Of course."  
As his only sibling exited the room, Endymion looked down at his wife, whose   
curlers were staring to fall out. "I feel like a total asshole."  
"As well you should," she responded casually, leaning against him. "You were   
acting like one. Now, we have half an hour until my appearance, and I have to finish  
my hair." She plucked a roller off the carpet. "Why don't you go find our daughter   
and make sure she's ready?"  
He nodded, and they exited the room together, each going down the hall in   
different directions.  
************  
  
Crista coyly played with a blonde strand of hair. "Brian, would you like to   
dance?"  
Rolling a pair of copper eyes, the young man shrugged her off and strode over   
to the refreshment table, the pink-clothed teen following him.  
"I'm worried," sighed Michelle audibly when the teen left, looking up at her   
sandy-haired girlfriend. "I haven't seen Susan for over an hour."  
Alexandra grimaced and shrugged a little. "Well...uh... Susan made me   
promise..." She played with an amber earring. "And I can't break a promise..."  
Growling exasperatedly, the musician rolled her eyes. "The first time in your   
life you choose to be noble," she muttered, "is THIS time."  
The blonde stuck out her tongue but didn't say anything.   
Suddenly, a blur of white tuxedo passed the couple, and Michelle jumped   
involuntarily. "Was that who I think it was?" she asked in a confused tone. "Or have  
I lost my mind?"  
"Both," retorted Alexandra, watching as Terrence stopped to search the room.   
"What's wrong with him, anyway?"  
"Who knows?" Hannah, with a large cup of red liquid in one hand, stumbled   
over. "Did you know that this tastes good?" she asked, slurring a few of her words.   
"Very good..."  
"What on Earth are you drinking?" Michelle stole the cup from Hannah after a   
brief struggle, jumping to avoid adding a red blotch to her light dress. Sniffing   
it, she wrinkled her nose. "What is this?"   
"Punch..." mumbled Hannah, swaying a bit. "Good punch..."  
The taller woman smelled the drink and stuck out her tongue. "This smells like  
pure alcohol!" Alex yelped, sipping it. "And it tastes like that stuff you got drunk  
on, Michi." Chortling, she deposited the drink in the soil of a nearby potted plant.  
"Remember that? It was at the Christmas party, and you got drunk..."  
Hitting her lover in the upper arm but laughing all the same, Michelle bit her  
lip. "This is not the time, Alexandra!" she informed the blonde. "Our older daughter  
is drunk!"  
"I'm not druck...drunked...dranked...Uhh..." Tripping over her own two feet,   
the black haired woman started to fall, only to be caught by her mother's strong   
arms.   
"You're right," admitted Alex, supporting Hannah and shaking her head. "We've   
got to get her home."  
Michelle agreed, taking her daughter by the wrist and running off to find   
Brian, obviously distressed over the young woman's 'condition'.  
As Alexandra looked across the ballroom at where the younger girl was   
standing, a smile passed across her face. At least someone in the family was having   
fun at the ball...  
"Hey Alex!" Terrence ran up to the blonde woman and wrapped an arm around her   
waist. "Want to dance?"  
The woman shook her head. "No!" she yelped, trying to pull away from his   
grasp.  
Too strong for her, Terrence pulled Alexandra onto the dance floor and started  
to waltz clumsily across the floor.  
"Have you seen Sets?" he nervously asked, whirling her quickly in a circle.  
Still attempting to wrestle from his grip, Alex groaned. "What part of 'no'   
don't you understand?" she snapped, also trying to lead the dance. "And do you   
realize how stupid you look?"  
Dipping her, Terrence stared into the pair of green eyes. "Have you seen my   
girlfriend or not?"  
As he pulled her back onto her feet, the Mistress of Uranus shook her head.   
"No, not for hours," she told him, seeing the concern on his face for the first   
time. "Why do you want to know?" Groaning as her attempt to toss the offending man   
into Raye Yuuichirou failed miserably, Alexandra dipped him.  
"Because Endymion was an ass to her," he responded, struggling to his feet and  
gritting his teeth. "Sets was upset..."  
"Nothing new!" Twirling him under an arm, she sighed. "Now, can I go?"  
He smiled evilly and shook his head. "This is too much fun, Alex! I'm not   
letting you get away!" He twirled her around.  
Rolling a pair of eyes, Alexandra Ten'ou dipped him, let go, and left a   
confused Terrence on the floor as she walked away.  
************  
  
"And he left..." cried Alice, looking at the floor. "Put a note on the kitchen  
table and ditched me and Mom!" Letting her chestnut-eyed gaze fly to her mother, the  
teenage girl shook her head. "I couldn't even tell her..."  
Patting the auburn-haired girl on the back, Lyra let out a sympathetic sigh.   
"Everybody gets their heart broken once or twice in a lifetime..."  
"Yeah," Phoebe agreed with a nod, smiling sadly. "After all, I'm by myself   
now!"  
Haley and Tara murmured soft condolences, neither one sure what to say.  
Alice shook her head. "It's just not fair," she cried, wiping the tears away.   
"I had just gotten to know my father, and then he went back to the states..."  
"Did the note say why?" asked a curious Haley.  
She nodded solemnly. "He said he was just a part of the past..."  
"The future is coming quickly, Sailor Scouts." Artemis walked out of a corner   
slowly and sat at their feet. "And the past is fading away." He shook his head.   
"Including my own love..."  
"Oh, Artemis!" The crying teen fell to her knees and pulled the cat close to   
her chest. "I feel so bad for you!"  
Tara raised an eyebrow and stared down at Alice. "What about feeling sorry for  
yourself?" she sarcastically asked as the Sailor Scout of the Aurora Borealis   
cuddled the cat.   
Hitting her best friend, Lyra smiled thoughtfully. "I think," she observed,   
"that our friend here will be just fine."  
"I hope so," sighed Phoebe. "I really hope so."  
************  
  
Death took one sip of the red punch and spit it across the refreshment table.   
"What IS this stuff you're making?" he asked Violence, who was pouring various   
fluids into the punch bowl.  
The other man shrugged. "I don't know," he admitted, glancing at the multiple   
bottles. "Vodka... Whisky... Brandy... Wine... Tequila... Scotch... and a bit of rum  
for flavor." Sipping the oddly colored red drink, he grinned. "Good, isn't it?"  
Closing his black eyes, Death shook his head slowly. "Do you realize that this  
punch could kill someone after a few cups?"  
"So?" The red-clothed Raider shrugged in boredom. "It'll take care of our   
quota faster..."  
"Quota?" spat the other man. "No meaningless killing, remember?"  
Violence sighed but didn't respond to the words.  
"We don't want to kill off people," Death continued, scanning the floor. "See   
that woman?" A finger pointed to a red-haired woman dancing with a much younger man.  
"She's someone's wife, mother, love, and best friend. How could you kill that woman?  
Or...him..." Death picked a young, blonde man out of the crowd and gestured to him.   
"He's probably got a girlfriend and family out there..."  
Violence snorted, cutting into his companion's speech. "Just because Greed's   
death hurt you," he informed the black garbed man, "doesn't mean that you have to be  
so uptight."  
As Death prepared a response, trumpets blared an entry fanfare. Filing in, the  
King, Queen, and Princess of Earth took their separate places on the small, raised   
platform and Serenity started her address.  
"I'm glad you could all come tonight," said the eternally young Queen, "and I   
promise to be brief."  
Death and Violence glanced at one another wordlessly, and slipped out of sight  
behind a curtain.  
And, from her spot on the edge of the crowd, a young black haired girl   
shuddered.  
************  
  
She shivered suddenly.  
"The Earth is a wonderful place," Serenity continued, her voice carrying over   
the vast expanse of guests. "And I am happy that we, as Crystal Tokyo, can share   
this marvelous world without regrets..."  
"Evil..." breathed Tara, nervously glancing about. "There's evil nearby..."  
Running across the ballroom, the young Shinto searched endlessly for her   
friends, pushing people haphazardly to one side or another as she searched for the   
other Galactic Sailors.  
With the exception of Reeny, who was standing with her parents on the   
platform, the Scouts were all gathered near the center of the ballroom, with Richard  
and Celeste nearby. Tara sighed a slight breath of relief as she saw her friends;   
they would help.  
"Tara?" Haley was the first to notice the upset girl. "What's wrong, Tara?"  
Upon hearing the name of the youngest Scout, Lyra, Alice, and Phoebe all   
whirled around and looked doubtfully at her. "Tara?" asked Lyra in a bit of doubt.   
Seeing the grieved expression on her friend's face, the blonde teen suddenly gulped.  
"Oh dear..."  
"Evil..." hissed Tara so that neither the little girl nor the young man would   
hear. "There's evil nearby!"  
"What?" Phoebe's ice-colored eyes grew huge as she listened to the raven-  
haired girl. "Are you sure, Tara?"  
Tara cleared her throat nervously. "Have I been wrong before?" she   
rhetorically asked, green eyes flying from one Scout to another.  
Snorting, Alice stroked the white cat in her arms. "Yes, you have," she   
reminded Tara. "With all the fire readings, for example. Or when you stole my   
locket. Or..."  
"Enough!" the blonde interjected, glaring at Alice. "This could be serious!"  
"It could," retorted the auburn-haired girl, "be another false..."  
She was interrupted by a scream.  
All five teens gasped as they looked to where Reeny was standing.  
Because Death was standing behind her, pulling her arms behind her back as the  
entire crowd watched in a state of surprised horror.   
"Let's go!" yelped Alice, racing out of the ballroom, the others following   
close behind her.  
************  
  
"Let go of me!" hollered Reeny, kicking as the man in black took her arms.   
"Leave me alone!"  
Serenity heard the holler and turned to where Reeny stood, lowering her   
sparkling blue eyes. Fear churned in the pit of her stomach, but she would not let   
it show in her face. "Who do you think she are?" she inquired of the assailant,   
furrowing her eyebrows.   
He cleared his throat, black eyes sparkling. "I am Death, a Raider of the   
Andromeda Galaxy," he informed the Queen solemnly, still trying to pull the   
struggling Princess off the platform. "And I here for the Princess." With a single   
gesture, a dome-like force field appeared around both Serenity and her husband,   
blocking their attempts to save the Princess.   
"As part of the Raiders," said a man in red armor, appearing out of nowhere,   
"we fight to take over your Earth."  
"But Earth is a peaceful place!" protested Endymion, trying to run his sword   
through the black dome without must resolve. "Why would you want to take it over?"  
Death snorted. "There is no such thing as peace, pretty boy." Tugging on Reeny  
again, he started down the platform steps.   
"HELP!" the pink-haired Princess declared. "Anyone! Diana! Orb! Silver   
Crystal!"  
"Shut up," the red Raider commanded, lowering his eyes. "You'll disturb our   
plan!"  
Reeny rolled her cinnamon eyes. "Yeah, like I'd further your plan, you stupid   
enemy." Wriggling one arm free as Death lead her into the hallway, she turned to   
face him and stared straight into his black eyes. "I don't think you want to do   
this," she told him matter-of-factly. "All six Galactic Sailors are here."  
He considered this and turned to the other Raider. "Violence, keep watch for   
the Sailors in the ballroom, would you?"  
Violence nodded and drew an enormous red sword from his scabbard. "Of course,"  
he assured Reeny's captor.  
Snorting, she shook her head. "Well, he'll take care of five of the Sailor   
Scouts," she volunteered casually as Death continued to drag her down the hall. "But  
you're still not completely safe."  
Stopping in his tracks, the Raider stared at the teen. "You seem a bit full of  
yourself."  
"I am," admitted Reeny, buffing the nails of her free arm on her silver gown.   
"Now," she softly told him, "if you let me go, I won't bolt."  
He glanced doubtfully at her. "Really?" he asked in disbelief.  
"I'll even show you why I'm so cocky," she smiled, winking.   
Reluctantly, Death released her other arm slowly. "You pull anything, though,"  
he warned, "and you're lunchmeat."  
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," she mocked, reaching into a hidden pocket of her dress.   
"Now, if I could just request one thing..."  
"What now?" Death rolled his eyes, shaking his head slowly in annoyance. "What  
am I supposed to do?"  
Pulling a small disc from behind her back, Reeny touched the Locket of the   
Moon to his nose. "Prepare for your doom, Death," she grinned, raising the locket   
above her head.  
And the Raider watched in shock as Reeny said the five words that evil feared   
more than anything.  
"Moon Galactic Power... Make UP!"  
************  
  
"Who's that?" asked Sailor Phoenix, stopping suddenly.  
In front of the five teens, who were now transformed into their Sailor forms,   
was a man in red armor. He was wielding an enormous red sword and appeared to be   
very angry. "Stupid Death," he muttered to himself, not noticing the girls before   
him. "I'm third in command, I'm more powerful, but he's the one who gets to take the  
Princess!" Kicking a marble wall, his red eyes flared in anger. "Oh, when I get my   
hands on those Scouts, I'll run them through and bring their heads to the King!"  
"Oh shit..." gulped Sailor Comet. "He's going to kill us, Scouts."  
Aurora Borealis nodded in agreement. "Guys like that eat human liver for   
lunch," she mused, staring at him. "And like it!"  
"Well, we can't just stand here." Taking a cautious step forward, Polaris   
gulped. "I mean, right past that stupid Raider is Reeny!" She cleared her throat.   
"We can't let them take our Princess!"  
The girls watched in horror as the Raider turned slowly in their direction,   
eyes lowered. "Who are you?" he asked in an annoyed tone, staring at the blonde   
Scout.   
"Maybe you should ask yourself the same question!" yelled Sailor Earth,   
standing a bit taller from the back of the crowd. "I am Sailor Earth, and you're   
nothing better than dirt!"  
"And I am Sailor Polaris!" The Sailor took a battle-ready position. "Get ready  
to eat stardust, creep!"  
The blue-haired Scout grinned. "Phoenix is here! Get fired up!"  
Everyone groaned at the pun while the girl just kept smiling.   
"Aurora Borealis!" called the chestnut-eyed Scout from her spot on the floor.   
One of her knee-length lavender boots was off, and she held an Ace bandage in one   
hand. "As soon as I'm done wrapping this ankle, you're toast!"  
Sailor Comet groaned and shook her head slowly. "I'm Comet, and I don't have   
any stupid puns or cute things to say!" She looked him in the eyes. "But you will   
die, regardless."  
The Raider sighed. "I'm Raider Violence," he mocked in a high-pitched voice.   
"I fight for evil and injustice! On behalf of the Andromeda Galaxy..." He cleared   
his throat and dropped back down into his normal voice, "you're in deep shit, Sailor  
Scouts."  
"Are not!" retorted Polaris, stepping forward, Earth hovering slightly behind   
her. "We have to save our Princess."  
"Touching, but I think not," the Raider shot. "You can't beat us."  
Phoenix bristled. "Want to bet, you stupid Raider?" she asked, sneering at   
him. "Phoenix Heat... Flashing!"  
Fiery liquid and steam erupted from the hands of the Scout.  
Violence dove out of the way and jumped towards the group of Sailor Scouts,   
sword drawn, making his weapon appear to be an extension of his arm. The five   
scattered, each isolated and practically detached from one another.  
"Someone run and find Reeny!" called Comet from her spot nearest the Raider.   
"He can't hold us all off!"  
Aurora Borealis and Earth, who were furthest from the enemy, obeyed, sprinting  
down the hall at incredible speeds.  
"Why, you little..." Violence raised his sword, the blood colored blade   
glistened as it hung above the brown-haired head of Sailor Comet. "Prepare to die!"  
He was distracted by a small ball of stardust hitting him squarely between the  
shoulders. From her nearby position, Sailor Polaris smiled in mock innocence.   
"Oops?"   
"I don't know which one is more annoying," the Raider muttered to himself,   
whirling the sword around to point at the gold-and-light-orange-suited Scout. "So,   
now you want to die?"   
"I," responded the girl bravely, "would do anything to save my Princess."  
As the sword started to near her chest, Polaris heard a young voice call out.  
"NO! NOT LYRA!"  
"Celeste!" With Violence's confusion, she had time to whirl around and find   
the little girl in the purple gown. "Get away from here, 'Leste!" Suddenly, shock   
registered on the edge of her mind. How did the little girl know who she was?  
Unless...  
"Leave her alone, you big bully!" hollered the blonde child, stepping toward   
Violence. "She's never done a thing to you, and here you are, yelling and holding a   
sword to her chest!" Celeste rested her hands on her hips. "Didn't your mommy ever   
teach you not to play with sharp objects?"  
Violence chuckled and withdrew his sword. "Of course not, kid," he told her,   
walking a few paces towards the child. "Now, who are you?"  
"Celeste..." growled Sailor Polaris.  
"Brave kid," Phoenix observed, obviously impressed. "If I ever have a sister,   
I want one like her!"  
The girl held out one of her hands, a tiny purple and yellow pen clutched in   
her fist. On top of the pen was a tiny star insignia, with another, smaller star   
lying inside of it. "My name," she informed him, "is Sailor Chibi-Star."  
"WHAT?" The three remaining Scouts stared nervously at the child.  
Raising an eyebrow, Violence chuckled, a bit of nervousness showing on his   
face. "Cute pen," he commented, looking at the little object.  
"You don't believe me?" she asked sweetly. "You should."  
"And why is that?" asked the Raider.  
Polaris stepped toward her sister. "Celeste?"  
She raised the pen above her head, green eyes sparkling with resolve. As the   
child cleared her throat, Sailor Polaris felt a shiver run down her spine.  
It was true. It was all true.  
And Celeste Mokoti then said the words that separated the destined ones from   
every other person on Earth.  
"Small Star Power... MAKE UP!"  
************  
  
Mina rapped on the black doom with a fist. "Nothing," she sighed, stepping   
back. "It's like Tupperware, Serenity."  
"A lot of good that does us!" yelped the Queen from inside the barrier. "What   
can I do, stuck in here?"  
Studying the shell, Lita let out a long sigh. "If Amy were here, she would   
know what to do..."  
"And if Susan were here," Alexandra put in, "she'd probably bitch and   
complain."  
Raye furrowed her brows in annoyance. "Do you have a point?"  
The blonde nodded. "Instead of 'ifs', let's focus on the problem here."   
Leaning against the force field, she sighed. "Our King and Queen are trapped in a   
force field, our daughters are off fighting evil, and none of us know what to do   
about it."  
Kicking the shell, Lita groaned. "Well, this is just dandy!" she exclaimed,   
adjusting the straps of her green gown. "We might as well just give up!"  
"Now, not so fast," put in Michelle hopefully. "Maybe, if someone attacked   
it..."  
Everyone looked expectantly at Hannah, who stood between her mothers.  
"Wha?" she grunted, bloodshot eyes flying nervously around the room. "I'd get   
my Glaive and kill da bad guys... Okay, Alex?" she slurred, looking at her aqua-  
haired parent.  
The Mistress of Venus' eyes grew wide. "Stone drunk," she commented. "I   
haven't seen anybody like that since Michelle at..."  
"WOULD EVERYONE STOP BRINGING THAT UP?" In an uncharacteristic outburst of   
anger, the musician glared at all the other Mistresses. Seeing their surprised   
looks, she blushed and gritted her teeth in an awkward grin. "This is a bad time, I   
mean..."  
Chewing thoughtfully on her lower lip, Mina sighed. "We've never had to do   
this without Amy..."  
"Yeah," agreed Raye softly. "I never would have guessed that doing this would   
be so hard..."  
"None of us can attack," noted Lita. "It would be so much easier if we could."  
Alex nodded. "And, with Hannah in her current state, the Silence Glaive would   
be a bad plan."  
The Mistress of Neptune agreed. "So, we're stuck..."  
"We've got to be forgetting someone..." King Endymion stared thoughtfully at   
the ceiling of the dome.   
A flash of crimson light appeared out of nowhere, and nearly blinded the group   
of women. The Mistress/Sailor of Pluto, with her Key of Time and full Sailor fuku,   
stood before the gathering. "You did forget someone," she informed them, a slight   
smile on her face. "And, I suppose you need my help."  
"Where'd you go?" asked Michelle, slightly confused.   
She shrugged. "Home. I was dying to watch some TV, and I'd had enough of   
Endymion's rudeness, besides."   
Hannah stared at Pluto and burst out laughing. "Your belly's getting bigger,   
Susie..." she giggled, nearly falling backwards.   
Blushing, the Guardian of Time covered her slight baby-girth with one arm.   
"What's wrong with her?" asked the Mistress.  
"Dead drunk," responded the red-gowned woman casually.  
"Hello?" Serenity knocked on the wall of the shell and looked out at her   
friends with wide blue eyes. The curls she had added to her pigtails had long since   
gone limp, and one of her buns had all been all but pulled out. "We're stuck,   
remember?"  
"Oh, yeah." Susan held the Time Key above her head and then hit the dome with   
it. "Pluto Eternal Attack!" she called out as red light was released from the garnet  
orb atop the staff. "Release our Queen!"  
The force field disintegrated into nothingness as the Key Staff touched it,   
freeing the King and Queen from their bondage.   
"Thank you, Mistress Pluto," sighed Endymion, running a nervous hand through   
his raven hair. "And, though this is late in coming, I'm very sorry for my...less   
than kind words earlier." Flushing a bit, he shook his head and took a deep,   
shuddering breath. "I was a jerk."  
"No, really," she mockingly retorted. Holding her staff high, she allowed   
another flash of red light to envelop her body.  
When the light was gone, so was Sailor Pluto.  
Mina smiled, relieved. "Thank goodness that's over." Looking around the nearly  
deserted room, she gasped. "Where's Celeste?"  
"Who?" inquired the Shinto priestess.  
"My younger daughter." Frantically, the blonde searched the room. "She was   
here just thirty seconds ago."  
"Probably got scared," put in Lita, casually sipping some punch. "Hmm...this   
stuff is good."  
Michelle and Alexandra glanced wordlessly at one another.  
Shuddering, Mina looked to the group. "You don't understand... Celeste is not   
just your average little girl."  
"What do you mean?" Serenity raised an eyebrow. "She is not one of the   
destined..."  
"Yes, she IS," Mistress Venus shot back. "She's Sailor Chibi-Star!"  
"Sailor CHIBI-STAR?" asked the women in unison.  
Mina rolled her blue eyes. "Is there an echo in here?" Shaking her head, she   
continued. "We don't know how it happened, but one day, there it was--a purple and   
yellow transformation pen with two stars on it. And, since Lyra was Sailor Polaris,   
Andrew assumed that..."  
"It's like the study that Amy attempted a few decades ago," observed Michelle   
thoughtfully. "Maybe there are more Silver Millennium survivors..."  
"Can we talk about this later?" asked an exceedingly nervous Mina. "I would   
like to find me daughter and possibly save her life."  
The Mistresses all looked at one another and took off running, leaving an   
extremely confused Hannah standing alone.  
************  
  
"Damn it!" Sailor Moon managed a quick somersault, avoiding a stream of flying  
nails. "Can't we just talk about this?" She swung the Galactic Rod.  
Death avoided the blow and shook his head. "Die!" he yelled, a long pike   
appearing in one of his hands. "How could I let you win, Sailor Moon?" Smirking, he   
thrust with the weapon. "Or, should I say 'Princess Serenity'?"  
"Reeny's much shorter, thank you!" She jumped out of his range and prepared   
the Rod. "Galactic Shower!"  
Moon and star dusts fell from the ceiling and onto the Raider, causing him to   
scream out in pain. "Counter!" he managed after a pause, allowing a large ball of   
black energy to scatter the dust around the room. Another pike appeared in his grip,  
and before the Scout could react, its point way being held to the pink flesh of   
Sailor Moon's neck. "Do you give up, Princess?" he softly asked, gently depressing   
the sharp tip of the weapon into her skin.  
The teen hardly moved as she felt the cold metal against her throat. "If you   
kill me," she coolly managed, "you will be hunted down.  
"And, if you live," the Raider softly told her, "then my cause will fail." He   
drew the tip across her soft neck, deliberately putting minimal pressure, so not to   
break the skin. "We are two very different people, Neo-Sailor Moon."  
Tears began to fill her red eyes. "Don't kill me!" she cried. "You can have   
the world, if you want...just let me live!"  
He shook his head and drew the pike back a few inches. "Goodbye, Sailor   
Moon..."  
Taking her chances with the four-inch maneuverability, Moon kicked Death in   
the groin and launched herself high into the air as he swung the weapon in defense,   
smiling as he knocked himself off balance and ended up on the ground.   
"I am Sailor Moon!" she grinned, stepping on his hand and pulling the pike out  
of his reach. "Don't mess with me."  
"Moon!" called Sailor Aurora Borealis, coming into view. "Are you alright?"  
The pink haired teen nodded happily, still standing on Death's hand with all   
her weight. "Yeah. What about you two?"  
Sailor Earth nodded. "We're fine, but I don't know about the others. We left   
them with Violence." She stared down at Death, how was confused but conscious and   
seemed to thinking of a plan. "Uh...Sailor Moon..."  
"What?" she asked innocently, looking at her friends with concern.  
Just then, Death wrapped his free hand around the girl's ankle and shoved her   
completely off balance.   
Sailor Aurora Borealis responded impulsively to his move, not thinking.   
"Aurora Borealis...Shining!"   
"ARGH!" he screamed, shielding his eyes from the blinding light. "You stupid   
Scouts! I'll be back!"  
As he disappeared, Sailor Moon clambered slowly to her feet, a bit   
embarrassed. "Thanks, guys," she blushed. "I would have gotten my butt kicked   
without you."  
"Learn to think," Earth sighed, pushing her tiara higher on her brow. "Or   
you'll regret it."  
Moon smiled. "Let's help the others before that," she winked, starting off   
down the hall.  
************  
  
"Chibi-Star," Violence thought aloud. "I'm impressed. The youngest Scout is   
only five."  
The little girl stuck out her tongue. "Six and a half!" she protested,   
bristling. "So there!"  
"Whatever." The Raider raised his sword. "Now, are you ready to meet your   
maker?"  
Sailors Phoenix and Comet glanced at one another. "Not without a fight, she   
won't!"  
"Not you again..." He rolled his blood-colored eyes. "Go save Sailor Moon or   
something, because this isn't your battle."  
Leaning against the wall in shock, Sailor Polaris let out a deep sigh. "He's   
right. It isn't."  
An amazed look crossed Phoenix's face. "You can't give up, Polaris!"  
"Too late..." the teen commented with a shake of her head.   
"What about your sister?" persisted Comet, lowering her eyes. "What about   
her?"  
"Lyra?" asked the child in doubt.   
Without words, Sailor Polaris pulled the locket from her bow and untranformed.  
"I can't... I'll just put 'Leste in more danger..." Looking down at her dress, she   
sighed. "And I can't do that, Comet...Phoenix..."  
Chibi-Star sniffled, shaking her head slowly from one side to the other.   
Staring in doubt at her older sister, she tossed a blonde pigtail over her shoulder  
in a gesture of determination. "Do what you want, Lyra," she spat in anger, "but I'm  
going to fight." She turned away from her sister. "I know one thing though...   
Richard would be disappointed."  
"You leave him out of this!" Lyra yelled in defense, crossing her arms. "This   
is a Scout thing!"  
Violence tossed his sword from hand to hand in boredom. "Are you two done   
yet?" he asked in annoyance. "I'm getting really sick of this 'noble villain' deal."  
Shining the sword with a handkerchief, he sighed. "Here's the game plan. You have   
until the count of 'ten' to quit whining and start fighting, or I kill you point   
blank. One..."  
Sailor Comet gulped. "Lyra? Are you going to fight?"  
"Two..."  
"No," she told the brunette. "I'm not."  
"Three..."  
"Come on," whined Phoenix. "You can't just let us die!"  
"Four..."  
Lyra sighed. "You won't die. You can do it."  
"Five..."  
Sailors Moon, Earth, and Aurora Borealis then came running down the hall,   
slipping to a stop as they saw the other Scouts.  
"Six..."  
"Lyra?" asked Earth, stepping carefully forward. "What's going on?"  
"Seven..."  
Chibi-Star shook her head. "We have to fight without her. She's throwing a   
hissy-fit."  
"Eight..."  
Sailor Moon, playing with a pigtail, raised her eyebrows. "What are you   
talking about? How'd you get here?"  
"Nine..."  
"He's going to attack at the count of ten!" yelled Phoenix nervously.  
"Ten!" Violence swung the sword above his head and leapt for Sailor Chibi-  
Star.  
"Small Star..." gulped the littlest Scout nervously.  
This was too much for Lyra. Celeste was going to die if she didn't hurry, but   
what could she do? Suddenly, realization hit the blonde.  
She could still fight.  
Getting a running start, Lyra did the only thing she could. "Sailor Polaris   
kick!" she screamed, smiling as her high-heeled foot made contact with the wrist of   
his sword hand.   
"Argh!" Violence dropped the sword with a clatter, clutching his injured   
wrist. "Why...you..."  
Grabbing the hilt of the Raider's sword, Lyra backed a bit away from him,   
holding the tip of the blade near his heart. "Would you like to try that again?" she  
asked softly, brown eyes glistening with hate. "Or would you like to run?"  
Chibi-Star attached herself to one of her sister's legs. "You saved me!" she   
cried happily, hugging Lyra.  
He glared at the girl in the dress. "How did you do that?" Violence asked in   
anger.  
"A bit of luck," she smiled, "and a bit of love."  
The clatter of high heels on marble sounded as five Planet Mistresses and one   
Queen arrived in the hallway.  
Sailor Phoenix cleared her throat and glared at Serenity. "Your Highness," she  
hissed, "get out of here."  
"Go," agreed Sailor Moon, her red eyes flying to her mother. "This is too   
dangerous."  
Mars and Jupiter took their Queen by the arms and led her out of the hall,   
leaving Venus, Uranus, and Neptune behind to aid the Scouts.  
Violence looked around, realizing for the first time that he was cornered.   
Smiling nervously, he snapped and the sword faded out of existence. "You may have   
won this time, Sailors," he spat. "But you will not live through such an attack next  
time."  
With that, he was gone.  
Falling to her knees, Lyra wrapped her arms around Sailor Chibi-Star   
protectively. "Don't you ever do something like that again!" she commanded, staring   
into the pair of innocent green eyes before her. "You could have gotten killed!"  
"And you could've too, Lyra," the girl informed her sister with a sly wink.   
"But I'm glad you didn't."  
The Mistress of Venus ran towards her two daughters, near tears. "Are you   
alright?" she gasped, dropping onto her knees in the orange and yellow Mistress   
dress she wore. "I was so worried!"  
Sailor Earth stepped forward and smiled a bit. "I think they're fine," she   
softly said.  
The other Scouts all smiled and started back to the ballroom.  
************  
  
"Ugh... I don't believe I got so drunk..." groaned Hannah, idly playing with   
her soba noodles. "I feel awful."  
Crista shook her head and tried not to giggle. "You did look funny, Hannah."  
"Shut up," snapped the black haired woman. "Thank God you're going home   
tomorrow."  
The blonde tossed her hair and sneered. "You're just jealous."  
Throwing down her fork, Hannah glared across the kitchen table and lowered her  
eyes. "And why would I be jealous?"   
"Because," grinned Crista, "Brian likes me better."  
"He does not like YOU better, Crista!" the young woman yelled, springing to   
her feet. "You have a lot of nerve! You insult our Princess, you annoy my boyfriend,  
you offend my family, yet you think you're friends with Haley!" ranted Hannah   
angrily. "Crista, I do not believe that you'd understand true friendship if it bit   
you in the butt! Friendship is love and caring! All you are is a good for nothing   
brat who leeches off others!"  
The tall teen stood. "I don't care what you think about me, Hannah," she shot   
back in a cold tone. "I came to stay with an old friend! If I had known that Haley   
had changed, I would have stayed in Los Angeles!" She lowered her blue eyes slowly.   
"Haley is this loving, caring person, and I'm selfish. I know that." Shrugging,   
Crista smiled a bit. "She used to be my only friend when I lived here, and then I   
left. And she managed to make new friends. Like a beautiful Princess, several strong  
young women, and an older sister." Wiping a falling tear from her eye, the teenager   
picked her purse up off the floor. "And I have learned that, after all this time, I   
was the jealous one."  
"Don't say things like that," said Haley, coming down the stairs in her   
pajamas. "You shouldn't have been jealous, Crista."  
The blonde turned and shook her head. "But I was. Hell, I still am." Taking   
one of her friend's hands, Crista smiled. "Don't forget me, Haley... And write every  
couple of months and tell me how you're doing."  
The brunette wrapped her arms around the other teen's neck. "I could never   
forget you, Crista!"  
"Of course not," smiled the blonde, pulling away and starting to the front   
door. "I'm hard to forget." Winking, she opened the door and stood on the porch,   
taking a second of her time to find her car keys. "One more thing..." she smiled.  
"What?"  
"Don't get into too much trouble, Galactic Sailor of the Comets." Crista   
opened the door to her pink rental car and got in, waving as she dove out of the   
driveway and into the street.  
As she closed the door, Haley gulped and shook her head. "I'll never   
understand that girl," she muttered, going into the kitchen to make breakfast.  
************  
  
The Galactic Sailors Say!  
  
Celeste: (entering) Today's important lesson is to never give up.  
  
Raider Violence's voice: Exactly. If those Sailor Brats had given up, I would have   
won. And we all know that all the Sailor Scouts are going to live through all of   
first season.  
  
Celeste: Yeah! If we die, then what are we going to do about second season?  
  
Kate: (entering) Well, according to our... Christina? Where are you?  
  
Christina: (entering while struggling with her Sailor Venus costume) Why'd I have to  
wear this goofy outfit, Kate?  
  
Kate: Shush. Now, as I was saying, we're planning all sorts of new surprises.  
  
Christina: (still struggling) Well, first, we have to finish this season. Kate's got  
a lot of work to do, so don't get your hopes too high.  
  
Kate: (annoyed) Christina?  
  
Christina: (STILL struggling) Yeah?  
  
Kate: Shut up.  
  
Celeste: (sweetly) Now, if these two would just hope, nothing would go wrong.  
  
Kate: (bending down and glaring at Celeste) Now, you were the one who, earlier,   
didn't want to hope...  
  
Christina: (finally getting costume right) Should I try some sort of Sailor Venus   
attack on the rug-rat?  
  
Celeste: (backing up nervously) Now... I don't think this is a good idea, writers.   
I mean, if you kill me, then all of the next season will be screwed up...  
  
Kate: (smiling) We won't kill you.  
  
Christina: (winking) We'll just hurt you.  
  
(Celeste runs, screaming, off screen)  
  
Kate: SuperKate says...  
  
Christina: SEE YA!  
  
-I Know-  
Look around...  
(Tara, sitting next to Queen Serenity, stares up at the night sky)  
So many things aren't clear...  
(Phoebe looks blankly at a math book)  
Don't worry, though...  
(Lyra smiles while picking up her tuba)  
You know that I'll be there...  
(Sailor Pluto and Haley smile knowingly at each other)  
A lot of things are so uncertain...  
(Alice looks sadly at a clock while the sun sets over Crystal Tokyo)  
The future's on its way...  
(Reeny holds the Locket of the Moon, smiling)  
Look at my crying eyes...  
(Luna and Artemis console an upset Diana)  
Don't take your love away!  
(Hannah sighs, looking at a sleeping Haley)  
  
Sometimes, the road looks long...  
(Mina looks at her children with Andrew behind her)  
And sometimes, the world seems wrong...  
(Alex and Michelle smile at one another and then blush deeply)  
But I know, I know, all you need is love.  
(The six girls, untransformed, hold their lockets high)  
  
Sometimes, you feel weak...  
(Lita smoothes the hair of a crying Alice)  
And sometimes, the future looks bleak...  
(Raye and Chad stand behind Tara, who is staring at her locket)  
But I know, I know, all you need is love.  
(The six Galactic Sailors stand in a half circle)  
  
Times will change...  
(Amy looks out of a window and at Crystal Palace)  
People will change, too...  
(Endymion looks at Serenity, who is pouring over a book)  
But deep inside...  
(Lyra hugs Celeste)  
I always will love you...  
(Diana falls asleep on Reeny's lap)  
I suppose there are questions now...  
(Alice and Phoebe stare blankly at one another)  
The answers are so far...  
(Michelle stands in front of the orchestra, talking)  
But look at me and smile now...  
(Tara lovingly hugs her father)  
I am your guiding star!  
(Haley smiles at a studying Hannah)  
  
Sometimes, the road looks long...  
(Mina looks at her children with Andrew behind her)  
And sometimes, the world seems wrong...  
(Alex and Michelle smile at one another and then blush deeply)  
But I know, I know, all you need is love.  
(The six girls, untransformed, hold their lockets high)  
  
Sometimes, you feel weak...  
(Lita smoothes the hair of a crying Alice)  
And sometimes, the future looks bleak...  
(Raye and Chad stand behind Tara, who is staring at her locket)  
But I know, I know, all you need is love.  
(The six Galactic Sailors stand in a half circle)  
  
I know...  
(The Planet Mistresses stand in a circle)  
I know...  
(The Galactic Sailors stand in a circle)  
All you need is love...  
(The Mistresses and Sailors all stand together, holding hands, with their eyes closed)  
All you need...is...love...  
(A single purple rose sits in a vase)  
************  
  
We would like to thank Andrea Readwolf, Kate's close friend and a fellow writer, for  
helping us with the part where Susan and Terrence break their "news" to Endymion and  
Serenity.  
We would like to thank every Galactic Sailors fan for enjoying this story... We   
previously were under the impression that no one read this mess!  
Until next time!  
-Kate and Christina  



	7. Maybe Tomorrow Will Be Better

Maybe Tomorrow Will Be Better  
  
Author's Ramblings: The Seventh story. This one is going to be a bit more  
serious than all the others. Don't be upset with me... Every story needs  
a downer episode, right?   
DISCLAIMER: Sailor Moon belongs to-Naoko Takeuchi, TOEI Animation,   
Kodansha, and DiC Productions. Notice how these names do not include our   
names? That's probably because I- Kate Butler-and her (points to blonde   
girl who looks a bit like Lyra)-Christina Gifford-do not own Sailor Moon.  
Never have, never will. However, the Galactic Sailors are ours. You   
cannot have them. They're ours. However, if Naoko wants to buy them...  
Note: Irina-the-concertmistress, Johanna-the-viola-player, Kevin-the-  
orange-shirted-bassist, Matt-the-near-last-violinist, and Katie-the-  
second-cellist are all real people. I borrowed them, and please don't   
snitch on me. Well, actually, Johanna would be pleased! Oh, and Mr.   
Bowling is really my high-school's orchestra teacher!   
************  
Last Episode:  
  
There was a ball. The Raiders went and tried to kidnap Reeny.   
Hannah got drunk. Haley's old friend pissed everyone off. Endymion was a   
jerk to Susan and Terrence after hearing the 'news'. Ken went back to the  
states. Celeste is revealed as Chibi-Star. The Raider plot didn't work.  
  
And that, my friends, is where the story begins...  
************  
  
"Chibi-Star..." Touching the silken petals of the purple rose from   
Richard, Lyra leaned back in her desk chair. "She's Celeste..." She   
sighed, looking at a group photo from the ball. Haley, Alice, Tara,   
Phoebe, Reeny, and herself, with little Celeste on Haley's shoulders.   
Would that be their life from now on? A six-year-old girl living in the   
shadow of her older sister and the other Sailor Scouts. And, if that was   
the future, how would the little one survive?  
A knock sounded at the door, and Lyra jumped, her rose landing   
softly on the brown carpet.  
"Are you alright?" Mina asked in a kind tone, walking into the   
bedroom with a small smile on her face. "You didn't come down for   
dinner."  
Sighing, the teenager smiled sadly. "I'm fine, Ma," she assured   
Mina in a shaky tone. "I was just...thinking..."  
Her mother sat down on the edge of the bed. "This entire Chibi-Star  
thing has really gotten you upset, hasn't it?"  
Lyra nodded.  
"Well, you can't worry about her, Lyra," Mina attempted, taking one  
of her daughter's small hands. "She's one of the destined, Lyra, and you-  
whether as Sailor Polaris or as yourself-cannot stand in the way of   
that."  
"But why her?" asked the girl, tears welling up in her brown eyes.   
"Why not Becky or Sarah? Why did my destined sister have to be Celeste?"  
Mina gulped and sighed deeply. "You should really ask your father."  
"But you're the Planet Mistress!" protested Lyra.  
Shrugging, the woman in the orange housedress and yellow apron rose  
and ruffled some of the blonde curls. "Yes, but not even I know   
everything," she admitted with a bit of amusement in her voice. "And   
you'll figure it all out soon enough."  
************  
  
"Alex, I don't want you to go drag-racing tomorrow!" protested   
Michelle with a wavering voice.  
The sandy-haired woman sighed and rolled her eyes. "Michi, I'll be   
fine," she assured the musician. "You worry about me all too much."  
Michelle shook her head quickly. "You don't understand. The seas   
are stormy, and I can feel it!"  
From her seat in the basement family room, Haley sighed deeply and   
turned the page in her book. Nothing hurt more than listening to her   
parents argue about things like drag racing. As Sailor Pluto had once   
explained to the brunette girl, "Sometimes, when you fight, its because   
you hate something. But, most often, its because you love something."  
Hannah, who was actually playing Nintendo for the first time in her  
life, sighed and shook her head. "I just don't understand those two   
sometimes," she admitted. "Susan has always tried to explain their   
relationship to me, and I still don't understand that how two people so   
in love could fight so much."  
The younger girl shrugged. "Don't you and Brian fight at all?" she   
asked, still reading.  
"Not really," Hannah reported. "I mean, we do have our words about  
some things, but its never like those two..." Focusing back onto the   
video game, she trailed slowly off.  
Haley chuckled at her comic book before looking again at her   
sometimes rigid and cranky elder sister. Beneath that sharp, severe   
façade, there really was a loving Hannah Tomoe and Haley-despite her rude  
words and annoying behaviors-really appreciated that side of Hannah.  
"You love him, don't you?"   
The raven-haired woman hit pause and proceeded to lean back, laying  
on the light-green carpeting with her purple eyes on the younger girl.   
"You know what, Haley?" she sighed wistfully. "I really think that..."  
SLAM!  
Both sisters jumped at the sound of crashing wood and quickly   
sprang to their feet. "What the hell?" Haley exclaimed, throwing the   
manga to the floor and involuntarily crouching into a battle-ready   
position. "A Raider attack? Evil villains? Robbers?"  
Rolling her eyes, Hannah mounted the stairs. "Thank you, Sailor   
Impetuous. But I think that Alexandra just slammed the door too hard,   
that's all."  
"Oh."  
Both girls took to the stairwell, walking slowly so as not to make   
too much noise on the creaky steps. Sure enough, Michelle was now alone   
in the big kitchen, slowly stirring her tea.  
"You know what, girls?" she rhetorically asked, not looking up. "In  
the twentieth century, she'd have stayed home if I felt the stormy seas.   
Now...I don't know..." Michelle shook her head and looked up with teary   
green eyes. "There are times that I wish she'd just leave and not come   
back..."  
Hannah gasped. "Now, Mom..."  
"But I love her way too much," the musician admitted softly,   
gulping down her drink. "Way too much."  
************  
  
"You're being really quiet," sighed Terrence, sipping his hot   
chocolate patiently. "What's wrong?"  
Susan shrugged from across the table, rubbing her bloated stomach   
lightly with one of her hands. "I'm just tired, Terry," she replied   
softly, glancing out the restaurant window and looking at the full silver  
moon that lit Crystal Tokyo.   
Shaking his head, Terrence let his green eyes fall on Crystal   
Palace, it's brilliant spires glittering in the pale moonlight. There had  
been so many instances where he had glanced at photos of the Palace and   
not understood its beauty, but he had a greater understanding, in a way.  
It wasn't the Palace that was all so amazing as much as it was the   
people who made Tokyo so wonderful.  
"Hey, Sets," he softly murmured, reaching forward and taking her   
hand. "Would you like to eat dinner at the Royal Palace with me some   
night this week?"  
She gasped, pressing her thin red lips tightly together. "At the   
Palace?"  
He chuckled. "Is there an echo in here?" he quipped playfully,   
setting the mug down on the table. "Yes, I do want you to join me," he   
said in a more serious tone. "You should spend some time around the   
Palace and get to know everything about my family."  
Trying not to laugh, Susan smiled mysteriously. "You forget how   
long I've known your family, Terry," she reminded him sweetly.   
Blushing a bit, he let out a sigh. "Just say you'll come, Sets.   
Please come."  
Susan slowly nodded, letting her gaze fall upon a small blue house   
next to a large brown and white school. The school was Crystal Music   
Academy.  
And the house was home.  
************  
  
Walking in a slow circle around the seven-pointed star, the Raider   
King looked at the five remaining stones with disdain. Black, red, gray,   
crimson, and silver-the symbols of the four living Raiders and the gem   
for their guiding spirit.  
"Your Majesty?" came a timid voice from behind him.   
Whirling quickly around, the king glanced at Doubt and smiled slightly.   
"Yes?"  
Folding her hands together, she sat down in mid-air and proceeded   
to float. "Well, uh, sir... I wanted to talk about the newest plot."  
He rolled his crimson eyes. "I want you to cancel all previous   
plots you have set up."  
"Why?" Doubt inquired in a challenging tone. "Our newest idea will   
work like a charm if you just..."  
"I have," he interrupted, "a new plan."  
His unexpected comment made her start. "A...new plan?" she   
stammered nervously. "And what would that be?"  
"I have heard," the King informed her, "that one of the Planet   
Mistresses is very interested in drag racing."  
"So?" she retorted, running her hands through the long white   
strands that rimmed her pale face. "What does that have to do with..."  
"Hush," he commanded. "Tomorrow, there will be an 'accident' at   
White Streams racecourse, and the Raiders will start an anti-racing   
committee."  
Doubt smiled wicked, showing a pair of silvery fangs. "And we will   
be the only on to comfort the unlucky Scout who loses their mother." As   
she stretched and then allowed her feet to touch the ground, the evil   
grin grew. "Brilliant, sir. Absolutely brilliant."  
"Why do you think I thought of it?" he inquired with a toss of his   
black hair. "But, never mind that. Dismissed."  
She nodded, and a puff of white smoke took her away.  
And-for the first time in months-the Raider King smiled.   
************  
  
"Why," whined Phoebe while rubbing her upper arms, "are we out here  
in the freezing cold?"  
Lyra sighed and scooted closer on the metal bleachers to Richard.   
At least he gave off some semblance of warmth.  
Rolling a pair of teal eyes, Haley Ten'ou looked at her motley   
group of friends and let out a steamy breath. "I told you," she responded  
to the blue-haired teen's whining. "Michelle has a bad feeling about   
today."  
Gingerly leaning back against the next riser, Richard raised an   
eyebrow. "I don't understand what you meant by that," the young man   
commented, eyes half-closed in extreme ennui. "It's eight in the morning,  
and you drag us all out here because someone had a 'bad feeling'..."  
"You didn't have to come," Tara shot at him.   
"I was supposed to be driving to Japan's finest Art museum with   
Lyra," he responded coolly, "when she got this odd phone call and had to   
run out to the racetrack." Sighing, Richard opened his dark blue eyes   
completely and looked at the four girls. "But, Lyra's problems are my   
problems, so..." Trailing off, he shrugged. "The only thing I don't   
understand is..."  
"Lyra!" whined the little blonde girl from her seat with Alice. "I   
lost again!"  
Laughing a bit, Alice leaned over, auburn hair falling gracefully   
from behind her shoulders. "I'm sure that she thinks I cheat."  
Celeste nodded. "Yep!" Picking up the deck of cards, she proceeded   
over to where her sister sat and placed the cards on Lyra's lap. "Play   
with me!" the girl commanded, crossing her arms.  
Picking up a card, Richard chuckled. "What have we here?" he asked   
in mock surprise, studying the deck, which had a Sailor Scout theme.   
"More Sailor Scouts." Glancing at all the teen girls around him, he shook  
his head. "Do you all have an obsession with the Scouts?"  
"Yep!" grinned Phoebe, pacing up and down the bleacher seats   
nearest the tracks. "I mean, it's not like they're bad people to..." Eyes  
drawn to something near the track, she froze.  
"Now up to the line..." came the loud announcement over the P.A.   
system. "Alexandra Ten'ou with her car, Sky King, and a mysterious   
opponent named 'Red' in his car, The Raider."  
"Raider?" Haley ran toward the fencing and leaned so she could see   
down on the track. "Red?"  
"Are you thinking what I am?" asked a very nervous Alice, also   
standing.   
"On your mark..."  
Jumping over the edge of the stands and landing agilely on the   
ground, Haley sighed. "Alice, Pheebs-come with me," she demanded in a   
calm tone. "The rest of you, wait up here and get ready to take the   
situation to...drastic...measures."  
As the both the blue and auburn haired girls leapt over the edge   
and joined their brunette friend, Tara chewed on her lip. "Are you sure   
that...uh..."  
"Sure," answered Haley, cracking her knuckles. "Absolutely sure."  
************  
  
"Well, this sucks." Reeny flopped down on her big four-poster bed,   
sighing miserably. "Why do I have to stay home?"  
The pink cat that was sitting on the desk rolled a pair of magenta   
eyes. "Princesses," she informed her charge, "do not go to White Shores   
Racecourse."  
"And why not?" the girl whined, sitting up and glaring at her   
feline guardian. "I'm sixteen years old, Di! You can't treat me like a   
little kid anymore!"  
Diana snorted. "Want to bet, Reeny?" she retorted. "You act like a   
child, and you are still the Princess of the Earth, regardless!"  
"And you," she told the cat, "are mean."  
"Say what you like," sighed the animal, laying down and curling   
into a ball, "but you're not going win this argument."  
Reeny stuck out her tongue and got up, walking to the far side of   
her bedroom.  
"I don't see," she muttered, pacing, "how this is fair. Just   
because I'm a Princess..." Looking into her long mirror, she took her two  
pigtails and held them out at arms' length. "Mom was a Princess, wasn't   
she? And SHE got to wander around Tokyo at her leisure." She flopped into  
a chair. "And I get to sit around in my bedroom all day!"  
There was a slight knock at the door, and a familiar face rimmed   
with shoulder-length black hair peeked in. "Hi, Meatball," smiled Hannah.   
"Can I come in for a couple of seconds?"  
Reeny nodded, rising and smiling gently at her childhood friend.   
"Hey, long time no see."  
"Yes, well, that was my fault," she admitted, nervously wringing   
her hands, just like in the twentieth century. "I'm not very good at   
long-term correspondence."  
The Princess gave her friend a tight hug. "Neither am I," she told   
the raven-haired woman. "Neither am I."  
Diana, who had been aware of the door opening, jumped off the oak   
desk and walked over to where the young women stood. "What brings you   
here, Saturn?"  
"Well, Michelle had a bit of an...uh...episode...with Alex   
yesterday," she stammered, blushing slightly. "And then, I had a   
premonition, and Susan has a funny feeling..."  
Flushing, Diana gulped. "Oh dear."  
"And it all centers around drag racing, doesn't it?" asked Reeny,   
fumbling through the closet for her parka.  
Hannah nodded. "How'd you know?"  
"Never mind that," Diana interrupted quickly. "The Princess is NOT   
going to the drag strip, and that is final!"  
"Bite me, you stupid fleabag," Reeny shot at the cat, pulling on a   
thick down coat. "Desperate times call for desperate measures."  
"But," the cat attempted, "Serenity would not be pleased..."  
"Reeny's right!" cut in a new voice from the doorway. "Sometimes,   
you got to do something that's against protocol."  
Diana made a face. "Terrence..."  
Stepping into the room, the prince bowed a bit to the Princess and   
Hannah. "That's my name, don't wear it out," he told the cat. "These   
girls have a mission-to protect the world from the Raiders, and to help   
the Mistresses."  
"So there!" Reeny stuck out her tongue.   
Pushing up his gold-rimmed glasses, Terrence nudged the two out the  
door. "So get gone!"  
As they left, Diana glared at the man before her. "You're an idiot,  
Terrence Chiba."  
"So my girlfriend often tells me," he responded, bending over and   
scratching the feline behind the ears. "But did you think that you'd   
actually stop that girl?"  
Diana made a face. "She has to learn some responsibility!" she shot  
back, trying not to purr. "That girl is..."  
"A lot like her mother," he finished casually, walking to the door.  
"And you know what, Di?"  
"What?" she asked in an annoyed tone.  
"You're a lot like yours."  
************  
  
"What's going on?" asked Richard as the three teens ran towards the  
track. "I don't understand at all..."  
Lyra shook her head. "I wish I could explain it to you,   
Richard...but it's not important."  
"Get set!" called the announcer's voice.  
Climbing up onto the fencing, Celeste looked down onto the track.   
"Do you guys see what I..."  
Tara jumped up and grabbed the child, pulling her down into the   
seats. "Shush," she demanded, lowering her green eyes. "It's not   
important."  
"But..." Pouting, the littlest Scout wandered off to a corner to   
sulk.  
Lyra and her raven-haired best friend exchanged nervous glances as   
the cars began gunning their engines. Something was wrong... The air   
about them smelled strange and the exhaust fumes from Alex's car seemed   
to be the wrong color.  
And overwhelming heaviness filled the air as the flag went down and  
the announcer said the much anticipated syllable.  
"GO!"  
Just as the two cars took off down the track, Tara gasped and   
jumped to her feet. "Danger!"  
"No, really?" asked Lyra, sensing it as well. "We can't do   
diddly-squat about it!"  
As the three girls and one young man watched in complete horror as   
The Sky King spun out of control and rammed head-on into a wall.  
"ALEX!" yelled Hannah, running across the risers with Reeny on her   
tail. "ALEX!"  
Holding the woman back so that she wouldn't jump over the fencing   
and run toward the track, Richard cleared his throat. "Would SOMEONE like  
to explain to me what's going on?" he asked frantically, glaring at Lyra   
with cold blue eyes.  
Feeling a sudden heat inside her coat, the blonde sighed. "It's   
hard to explain..." She reached into her pocket and wrapped her fingers   
around the locket.   
It was warm.  
"Celeste?" she asked her little sister, who was staring in shock at  
the wreck. "I want you to stay here with Richard, Hannah, and the   
Princess."  
"Are you and Tara going to..." Seeing the determined and angry look  
on Lyra's face, Celeste nodded carefully. "Right."  
Both teen girls jumped over the little railing, just as Haley and   
the others had done, and took off toward the track.  
As sirens began to wail in the distance, Richard looked at the   
dark-haired woman, who had crumpled to her knees in grief. "Who is she?"   
he asked the pink-haired Princess softly.  
Reeny inhaled deeply, shaking her head. "This is Alexandra's older   
daughter," she replied, staring out at the burning white car.  
************  
  
The baton clattered to the ground as she conducted the orchestra.  
"Ms. Kaioh?" stuttered the concertmistress, picking up the little   
white stick as the teacher froze in place. "Are you alright?"  
Gulping, Michelle let out a ragged sigh and began to shake. "Irina,  
take over."  
One of the bassists, a tall blonde boy with a bright orange   
T-shirt, made a face. "But, Ms. Kaioh, you can't just leave!" he   
protested as the woman started toward the doors.  
"Hush, Kevin," Irina-the-concertmistress commanded, standing and   
setting her violin on the empty seat. "We're starting at measure   
sixty..."  
The first-viola player ran a hand through her brown curls. "Do you   
have any clue what could be wrong THIS time, Irina?" she inquired softly.  
The Hispanic teen shrugged. "After three years of attending this   
school, Johanna," Irina responded casually, "you give up on asking."  
************  
  
"Take that!" Sailor Comet commanded, swinging brutally at Death   
with a fist. "You won't live to see tomorrow!" Failing to land yet   
another punch, the girl backed up, kicking at him yet still managing to   
miss.  
Sailor Phoenix avoided Violence's sword with an expert cartwheel   
and glared at her brunette friend. "Comet..." she growled, backing up as   
the armored man swung at her once again. "You're letting your anger take   
over..."  
The auburn-haired Scout dodged one of Death's fists as she looked   
at the other two girl. "I'd let it take over too if I was in her boots!"   
Aurora Borealis exclaimed as another double-team attempt with Comet   
sailed far past its mark. "But let's talk later!"  
An ambulance flew past, distracting Comet just long enough for one   
of Death's fists to make contact with her chin. Falling backwards onto   
her rump, the girl felt a warm trickle of blood trail down her chin.   
That was too much for the Scout.  
"I call upon the orbital power of the Comets!" she exclaimed, teal   
eyes slowly shutting. "Surround this enemy, and make them pay for the   
sins against Alexandra Ten'ou!"  
Both the Raiders froze in place, looking first to each other and   
then to the angry girl.  
"Comet SUPREME Crater..." she announced, eyes flying open and arms   
stretched far apart. "CLOSE!"  
As the ground opened wide enough to swallow both of the men and   
destroy them, another Raider appeared, clad in a shimmering gray gown.  
"It's nice to know," she sighed, pressing a hand to the hole and   
closing it before it caused any harm, "that I have to bail these men out   
of everything."  
"Who are you?" asked Sailor Polaris, running up to the battle   
scene with a horrified expression on her pale face.  
The Raider smirked, brushing a white strand of hair from her   
eyes. "They call me Raider Doubt," she greeted with a mock bow. "The last  
of the King's minions."  
Earth, who had also just arrived, let her jaw drop. "King?" she   
repeated in shock, gaping at the woman.  
Doubt nodded and snapped her fingers. Both of the male Raiders   
vanished, leaving her alone with the Scouts. "Yes, the Raider King. Our   
master." Shrugging, she allowed herself to hover a bit above the ground.   
"Of course, I am the master of disguise..." She snapped her fingers again  
and became a believable facsimile of Zoicite. With another snap, she   
became the original Sailor Moon, and, after one more snap, she became   
Alexandra Ten'ou. "It's all relative," she smiled, fading back into her   
Raider form. "And I intend to destroy you Scouts once and for all."  
"Not without a fight!" roared Comet, clenching her fists. "We're   
good and ready to chew you up and..."  
Doubt snorted, cutting the girl off. "This is not the place nor is   
it the time to battle, Scouts," she assured them with an evil gleam in   
her black eyes. "I thoroughly enjoy having the home court advantage, and   
I intend to do so." She winked and began to fade out of view. "Till then,  
Galactic Sailors."  
She was gone.  
"Shit!" swore Aurora Borealis, kicking at a twisted piece of metal   
that had fallen near her feet. "We lost her!"  
"We lost the other two," sighed Comet, staring longingly at the   
smothering car as the ambulance pulled quickly away, lights flashing and   
sirens blaring the alarm. "And probably Alexandra..."  
A timeless voice broke the ensuing silence. "She's a Planet   
Mistress," sighed Susan, stepping forward. "And therefore has a high   
constitution."  
Sailor Comet turned to look at her aunt and finally allowed tears   
to well up in her eyes. "Oh, Susan!" she cried, throwing herself into the  
Time Guardian's warm embrace. "I'm so scared..."  
"There, there," soothed the woman softly, entwining her hands into   
the thick brown mop of hair. "There, there..."  
Michelle came running up, tears streaming down her cheeks and  
hair flying through the air while she sobbing. Throwing herself into her  
friend's arms as well, she clenched her fists. "I felt it," she cried.  
Susan sighed and closed her eyes a bit. "Soul-mates are always   
with you," she suddenly declared, "no matter where they are."   
And, in the distance, the sirens faded out of hearing range.  
************  
  
Sitting alone in the kitchen, Phoebe sipped her hot cocoa,   
continually staring at the brown telephone before her. Eyes unmoving, she  
addressed the light orange cat next to her.   
"Will they ever call?"  
Orb raised one of his eyebrows. "You mean Haley and Hannah?" he   
asked, confused.  
Taking her gaze off the phone, she glared at the Moon Cat. "No,   
stupid!" she shot. "My parents!"  
"Whoa, down girl!" he retorted, jumping nearly a mile into the air   
and backing slowly away from her. "I just assumed that you'd be a bit   
more worried about Haley's mother because no one knows how she's doing."   
Shaking his head, he noticed the unshed tears in his charge's ice-colored  
eyes. "I'm sorry..."  
"It's not fair," she softly commented, looking at a warm family   
portrait that hung on the wall. "They left me here, alone, and are living  
a real life without me."  
Orb stepped closer to her, thinking of what he could say. "You   
haven't heard from them?"  
She gulped back the tears. "Well, I got an e-mail from Dad at work   
and a letter telling me about the new house, but that was it..."  
"Oh dear." Jumping onto her shoulder, he rested his chin on the top  
of her head. "I wish I knew what to say without sounding snide."  
"Around every corner is a memory," she sniffed, drawing her legs to  
her chest. "I can't even look down the hallway without wanting to cry,   
Orb." Burying her fingernails in the cat's fur, she felt one crystalline   
tear roll down her cheek. "And I hate the feeling I have inside. I want   
them to..."  
The annoying clangor of the phone's bell cut Phoebe off and forced   
her to jump into the air. "Hello?" she choked. Clearing her throat, she   
tried again. "Hello?"  
It was Lyra. "We're meeting at the hospital for a Scout meeting,"   
she bleated, "and it's important."  
"The hospital?" repeated the blue-haired girl, staring out the back  
door at the aforementioned building. "How's Alexandra?"  
The girl on the other end sighed. "Haley sounded really shaken up   
but refused to tell me anything over the phone. We're meeting in the ICU   
unit's main lounge."  
"I'll be there as soon as I can," Phoebe assured her friend, saying  
goodbye and hanging up the phone.  
"What?" asked Orb nervously, jumping onto the floor.   
Grabbing her coat, the teen sighed. "I have to go to the hospital."  
She ran out the door, the cat close on her heels.  
As the duo left, the phone rang again. After a few minutes, the   
answering machine picked up.  
"Hi, this is Pheebs!" it announced. "And I'm not home. Why not   
leave a message?"  
The person on the other end cleared their throat as the machine   
picked up. "Hi, Phoebe? It's Mom," Amy said softly. "I was calling to say  
I'm going to be in next week to see Susan..."  
Clicking off, the answering machine began to rewind the tape, the   
sound of it's mechanical voice echoing through the now empty home.   
"End of tape. Deleting previous messages."  
************  
"There's really been no word?" asked one of the male violinists   
softly. "You've got to be kidding."  
Alice slowly shook her head and looked at the rest of the   
orchestra. "Frankly, if Ms. Kaioh knew what I'm doing right now, she'd   
kill me," the cellist admitted. "But, since our emergency Saturday two-  
hour rehearsal got canceled, I had to tell you guys SOMETHING..."  
"Which reminds me," the second cellist, Katie, chimed in, "where   
were you earlier this morning?"  
Flushing, the first cellist stepped off the podium. "Never mind   
that... Uh..." Rubbing her hands together for warmth, she smiled sadly.   
"But, I'll be sure to tell you when we get any information."  
Irina nodded a bit. "What is with Ms. Kaioh and Ms. Ten'ou,   
anyway?"  
"Yeah!" chimed in Johanna. "They spend a lot of time together..."  
Kevin, the orange-shirted bassist, thought about this. "You know   
what? Johanna's got a good point!" he announced in an enlightened tone.   
Backing up, the teen blushed and smiled an embarrassed grin. "Now,   
I have no right to comment..."  
The concertmistress flushed. "She's right..."  
"Thank you," breathed the auburn-haired Scout. "Now, if you don't   
mind..."  
It was then that the band-room doors burst open and Reeny raced in,  
Celeste in tow. "Alice! We're meeting at the hospital NOW!"  
Murmurs of 'the princess!' and 'why is she here?' coursed through   
the group as the pink-haired teen looked blankly at the orchestra. "Get   
to work!" she demanded of the instrumentalists.   
Jumping, the lead violinist grabbed her bow off the stand. "C   
concert scale. Now!"  
The orchestra began playing in a perfect unison as Alice, Reeny,   
and the little blonde girl started out the doors.  
"Any news?" Alice inquired.  
"Nope," Celeste sighed, latching onto the taller girl's hand.   
"Haley wouldn't say."  
Reeny sighed, listening to the chorus of strings as they strode to   
the front doors of the school. "What I don't understand is why they   
listened to me," she commented. "I'm just the Princess."  
Alice chuckled. "That gives you power, Reen."  
"But THAT MUCH power?" asked the then, sniffing the cool winter air  
as she led the two others to her light blue car. "Then I think I like   
this 'Princess' business after all!"  
Shaking her head, Alice laughed heartily.  
************  
  
"Our plan failed," sighed Death, rubbing a bruise on his thigh.   
"And that Sailor Comet sure can kick."  
Violence rolled his eyes. "Failed? We got that dumb Planet Mistress  
good!" he exclaimed a bit soberly. "She's probably dead..." Pausing, he   
smirked. "Or worse."  
"Or worse?" asked Doubt, glancing up at him from her typing. "How   
can you be worse than dead?"  
Silence ensued while Raider Violence pondered that.  
After a good ten seconds filled only with the sound of Doubt's   
fingers on the keyboard, Death sighed again. "Anyway, when do we start   
phase two?"  
"When I'm done here," retorted the snowy-haired woman. "It won't be  
much longer than twenty minutes."  
The men nodded at her in approval before busying themselves with   
other things.  
************  
  
Seven Galactic Sailors and three Planet Mistresses, all in their   
civilian clothes, sat in a large lobby at Crystal Hospital.  
"No prognosis yet?" asked Alice for about the twelfth time in the   
last five minutes. "What are they, stupid?"  
Rolling a pair of green eyes, Tara glared at the girl, who was   
working on a sewing assignment. "You could shut up and save us the   
trouble of hitting you over the head."  
Alice stuck out her tongue in response but continued sewing.  
Sniffling, the brunette teen sighed deeply. "One of her legs was   
broken in the crash, she was covered with burns, and unconscious when   
they pulled her out of Sky King..." Trailing off, Haley leaned into   
Susan's warm embrace.  
"To think that this is all a hair-brained Raider plot!" exclaimed   
Phoebe solemnly. "I have half a mind to hurt them all!"  
Hannah, who was leaning against a Coke machine while sipping   
coffee, shook her head. "I never thought this would happen."  
"None of us did," Michelle agreed, shaking a bit under Reeny's   
guiding arm. "As Scouts, we were always close to death. But this...THIS   
is so different..."  
Walking out of the small bedroom, the doctor sighed and smoothed   
the folds of her white lab jacket. She was about thirty years of age,   
with long sea-green tresses and darting gray eyes. "I'm looking for a Ms.  
Michelle Kaioh, noted as next-of-kin."  
Detaching herself from the Princess' warm embrace, Michelle rose   
slowly to her feet. "I am Ms. Kaioh," she calmly said, wringing her   
handkerchief.  
"I would like to talk to you, Ms. Kaioh..." the young doctor   
addressed the musician. "If you could step into my office..."  
"No," Michelle told the doctor. "Anything you have to say, you say   
to them, too."  
The woman's gray eyes darted around the room at all the females.   
"Is this the rest of your family?" she asked, incredulously.  
Susan snorted softly. "You could say that we are," she responded in   
lieu of the aqua-haired woman. "Most of us either saw the accident or are  
close family members."  
"Well," the doctor told them after a long pause, "my name is Doctor  
Winifred Yioka, and I am Alexandra's ICU doctor." Taking a seat, she   
smiled warmly at Michelle. "Ms. Kaioh, please sit down."  
She did just that, gulping as Hannah came up and sat between   
herself and Reeny. "Doctor Yioka..."  
"Windy," smiled the woman.  
Michelle nodded. "Windy, please tell me the truth. How is she?"  
Windy's face suddenly turned very grim. "One of her legs is in dire  
need of reconstruction surgery, and she's covered with second-degree   
burns." Seeing Michelle's shocked face, the doctor paused for a long   
moment before continuing. "She punctured her spleen, broke three ribs,   
and has a major concussion."  
This was too much for Hannah, and she began to sob uncontrollably   
into Reeny's pink parka. "Meatball..." she whispered, calling the   
Princess by her virtually unknown nickname.   
"Shh..." cooed Reeny calmly. "Shh..." Patting her friend's head,   
the Princess smiled feebly at Windy. "Go on... Don't mind her..."  
Nodding once again, Windy allowed her gray eyes to make contact   
with Michelle's green eyes, filled with tears...tears that must, observed  
the doctor, take a super-human strength to hold back. "Michelle," she   
said, "anyone else would have died as soon as the car hit the wall. But   
your sister..."  
"No," Michelle interrupted the doctor. "My girlfriend."  
Windy smiled, not a bit phased. "But, your girlfriend lived. And   
will live through the leg surgery." Beaming, the doctor rose and   
stretched. "I have never, in all my years, seen someone as strong as   
Alexandra Ten'ou. You're all lucky that she's so strong."  
"We're just as strong," Celeste grinned sweetly. "We're her   
friends!"  
Putting on a polite smile, the young woman brushed a green hair   
from her eyes. "She's still out from the anesthetic, but..."  
"Anesthetic?" repeated Haley, looking up from the warm arms of   
Susan. "You operated?"  
"For the spleen," Windy replied, looking down at the brunette. "Let  
me guess... Apprehensive teenage daughter?"  
Beaming, the teen nodded.  
"She'll be fine, you all," the doctor finished, starting down the   
hall. "And, since the reconstruction in tomorrow, she'll be home in a   
week."  
Thanking the doctor, Michelle wrapped her slender arms around her   
elder daughter's neck and shed the tears she had been so keen on holding   
back.  
But she shed them in joy.  
************  
  
"Serenity!" called one of the many handmaidens in her chipper tone.  
"There's a telegram for you, m'Queen." Placing the yellow envelope on the  
Queen's desk, Lisa cocked her head of blonde hair to one side. "M'Queen?"  
Stretching, the Queen of the Earth yawned and picked up her head.   
"Hmm?" she muttered, glancing blankly at the maiden. "Oh! Lisa! Hello!"   
Blinking her big blue eyes, the eternal woman smiled politely. "I'm   
sorry; what did you say?"  
The handmaiden giggled a bit. "Oh, m'Queen, you are such a riot!"   
she exclaimed lovingly. "I came to give you that telegram." Lisa gestured  
to the yellow envelope.  
Blushing a little, Serenity nodded sweetly. "Thank you very much,"   
she responded, taking the paper into her small hands. "Has there been any  
news on Mistress Uranus' condition?"  
"No, m'Queen," she responded, "but the Prince Terrence was going to  
pick up the Mistress Pluto and the Princess Serenity and will surely   
return with some news."  
"Pluto?" Serenity picked up her golden crown and placed it upon her  
head. "Are they going out tonight?"  
Flushing, the younger woman fiddled with the clasp on her yellow   
dress. "The Mistress Pluto is to dine at the Palace tonight, m'Queen."  
Jumping up, she glanced at Lisa. "The first item of business is to   
add 'kill Terrence' to my planner," mused the young Queen in a serious   
tone. "And the second is to help me set up the dining room!"  
As the two women frantically rushed out of office, Luna opened an   
orange eye as she was hit in the head by something. "What in Heaven's   
name?" she muttered, glancing with obvious annoyance at the envelope.   
"Sometimes, I think that our Queen is not much less than an older Reeny."  
Taking the yellow paper in her mouth and depositing it upon the mighty   
oak desk, the black cat left the office, closing the door behind her.  
************  
  
"Richard?" Lyra asked, scuffing her feet together as the two rode   
in the little black sports car. "I was wondering..."  
As he rolled to a slow stop at the traffic light, Richard looked   
down at the blonde girl next to him. The pale red light from the signal   
gave her an odd but beautiful glow. He smiled warmly, getting a nervous   
smile in return. "Yes?"  
"Uh..." Dismissing her original question, Lyra let her smile grow.   
"How come I didn't see you at school the last couple of days?" she   
inquired.  
As the light turned green, he accelerated and then let out a sad   
sigh. "It's all my dad's doing," he told her softly, turning the corner.   
"He decided that I shouldn't attend Crossroads anymore... Which, of   
course, is extremely hypocritical of the man."  
"Why is that?" she asked softly, brown eyes studying his face.   
"My dad graduated from Crossroads, that's all," he confided in her,  
pulling up to a small apartment building. "And I don't think that's very   
fair." Shrugging, he put the car in park and shut it off. "Well, here we   
are."  
"Why did I agree to eat dinner with you and your parents again?"   
inquired the blonde girl nervously, pulling her black skirt straight.   
He took one of her tiny hands and squeezed it. "Because you're a   
very, very brave girl," he smirked, leading her to the front door of the   
building.  
************  
  
Stuffing a few more French fries in her mouth, Haley sighed sadly   
and glanced at her sister, who was curled up in Brian's embrace. "You   
know what I don't understand?" she asked Hannah in a slightly annoying   
tone.  
Opening a single purple eye, the older girl sat up a bit. "Give me   
a fry and I'll pretend to care," she yawned, holding out her hand.  
Chortling, the blonde man kissed the top of his girlfriend's head.   
"Well, I want to know," he responded to the teen. "Tell me."  
As Haley filled her sister's hand with the greasy food, she leaned   
back in the armchair. "Why would the Raiders want to kill Alexandra?"  
The words catching Hannah's otherwise diverted attention, the   
Mistress of Saturn pulled herself from Brian's arms and looked   
thoughtfully at the brunette girl. "To tell the truth," she admitted, "I   
have no clue."  
"Exactly," responded the teen, digging her teeth into a piece of   
celery. "Don't you wonder what that means?"  
Brian stole one of Hannah's fries and chewed on it carefully.   
"Could they be onto you guys?" he inquired softly, scooting protectively   
toward his girlfriend. "And, if so..."  
"But we Scouts," cut in Haley, "make a point of staying together as  
a group. The Raiders would never be able to pick us out as belonging to   
our separate mothers."  
Hannah nodded in agreement. "And Haley would be the least obvious   
to them because she's adopted."  
A heavy silence filled the air as the three pondered upon Haley's   
musing. After a few minutes, Brian sighed and shook his head. "So, you'd   
never guess what I saw while at the hospital."  
"What?" asked his girlfriend softly, nuzzling closer to him.   
He smiled sweetly. "I saw a sign-up for an anti-drag racing   
organization. Meets at White Shores every Sunday morning."  
"That's tomorrow," observed Haley. "Want to go?"  
Hannah nodded. "I really would. Brian?"  
"I'm in if you are," he cooed. "If you are..."  
************  
  
As her twin green eyes slowly opened, Alexandra forced a wary   
smile.  
Michelle was asleep sitting-up in a hard plastic hospital chair   
next to her, clutching one of Alex's bandaged hands.  
The moon, which had risen in its nightly dance but two hours ago,   
shone through the window, casting a silver glow on the aqua tresses.  
Taking the hand wrapped around hers, Alexandra pushed her lips into  
its palm. "Michi..." she murmured, pushing a few strands of hair from the  
closed eyes.   
Sitting up and yawning a bit, she smiled warmly and leaned forward   
to give the blonde a gentle hug. "I was so worried," she whispered into   
the woman's ear, trying desperately to rest her head on Alex's chest. "I   
love you so much, and I thought that I'd lost you..."  
"You knew, didn't you?" she asked, smoothing Michelle's hair. "You   
felt it." Seeing her lover nod and feeling her shudder with sobs,   
Alexandra gave her a tighter hug. "The minute I hit that wall, you know   
what I thought of? You."  
"Me..." sniffled Michelle, crying lightly. "Oh...Alex..."  
"Shhh." The Mistress of Uranus cupped the other woman's chin her   
hand. "You can't always get so emotional, you know that?"  
Smiling through her tears, the musician let her eyes meet Alex's,   
both pairs the exact same color of green. "You can be such a brat," she   
choked.  
The blonde chuckled and pulled Michelle into a tight embrace and   
passionate kiss.  
************  
  
"I'm so glad you could join us for dinner," smiled Serenity   
politely across the table at her green-haired friend. "It's not every day  
that the Mistress of Pluto comes to dine at your home."  
From her seat on the windowsill, Reeny snorted. "Mom, this is   
really no time to talk like an ambassador," the Princess protested,   
staring idly out at the Moon. "She's just Puu."  
Flushing, Susan folded her hands. "I'm just glad to be here with   
friends," she smiled, stressing the last word. "I haven't spent proper   
time with Terrence..."  
Looking at his brother, the brown-haired Prince raised an eyebrow.   
"How do these girls get away with using such big words?" he sarcastically  
asked, sipping his wine.   
"Maybe," suggested Endymion with a sly smirk, "you should ponder   
on why you so often agree with the Princess."  
"Not you too!" whined Terrence. "Help!"  
Changing the subject, Reeny let out a deep sigh. "Do you ever   
wonder how Helios is?" she wistfully inquired, staring out at the night   
sky.   
The adults all looked at one another but said nothing, stunned into  
a nervous silence.  
Bustling into the room, Lisa held out a large pad of paper. "Didn't  
mean to be late, m'Queen," she blushed, standing nervously at the corner   
of the table closest to the blonde woman. "Now, what would you like to   
eat for dinner, my lieges and ladies?"  
Reeny grinned and leapt off the windowsill and into her chair.   
"Pizza!"  
Rolling his blue eyes, Endymion shook his head. "A well-done steak,  
please."  
"Same here," agreed his younger brother, pushing the glasses up on   
his nose.  
Serenity chewed thoughtfully on her lower lip. "That actually   
sounds really good," she smiled, looking to her handmaiden. "I'll take   
one!"  
The younger woman flushed but didn't say anything. Looking   
expectantly at the last woman, Lisa smiled politely. "Mistress Pluto?"   
she prompted.  
"Pickled pig's snout." Susan brushed a green hair from her eyes.   
"With extra gravy."  
Clearing her throat nervously, the servant managed a chuckle. "Yes,  
Mistress Pluto. Coming right up."  
Shaking his head, Terrence laughed at his girlfriend. "Pregnant   
women..." he muttered.  
"And whose fault is it that I'm pregnant?" shot back the Guardian   
of Time, lowering her maroon eyes.   
Endymion rolled his eyes. "Here we go again..." he muttered.  
************  
  
"Pass the rolls, please," smiled Lyra, nervously toying with her   
napkin.   
Molly smiled politely, looking to her husband, who was busy   
reading. "Melvin?" she asked, gesturing toward the basket of bread.  
"Right, right," he mumbled, handing the basket to the blonde girl.   
"I knew that."  
"Dad..." growled Richard, a blush slowly creeping across his face.   
"Would you please put the book down?"  
The computer programmer adjusted his thick glasses. "I'd love to,   
but this is required reading, Rich."  
Lyra groaned inwardly and continued to pick at her salmon. The   
entire dinner had been a disaster, with Melvin ignoring her mere   
existence and Molly trying to dig for personal information while  
remaining polite.  
"Melvin!" scolded red-haired woman, standing quickly up. "Can I see  
you in the next room, please?"  
"But..."  
"Now!"  
As his parents got up, Richard looked guiltily at his lap. "I'm   
really sorry, Lyra..." he sighed, shaking his head. "This is a disaster."  
"Can I be blunt?" she nervously inquired, smiling a little.   
He nodded, expecting the worst.  
Standing slowly, she came around and sat next to him in an empty   
chair. "Richard," she smiled, taking his hand in hers. "I really like   
you."   
His blue eyes snapped up and stared at her. "What?"  
Chuckling to herself, the girl smiled warmly at him. "I know that   
we're just friends, and that's great, but..."  
All the color draining out of his face, the young man stared   
blankly at her. "Just friends?" he gasped, amazed.  
"Well, aren't we?" she questioned, cocking her head to the side.   
"I mean-sure-the movie WAS a love story...and there was that whole ball   
thing, but the museum didn't work out and the pizza dinner was just   
fortuitous... not to mention tonight..."  
Richard laughed heartily and leaned forward, wrapping her in a   
tight hug. "You're so silly!" he announced loudly, smiling. "I really do   
like you, Ms. Lyra Star Mokoti." Pulling away, he looked deeply into her   
pecan-colored eyes. "I asked you out because I felt something when we ate  
that...fortuitous, was it?...pizza dinner, and I can't get you out of my   
head."  
"You're...kidding?" stuttered the teen, amazed. "You actually like   
me?"  
He nodded a bit. "Of course I do, Lyra," he smiled, pulling her   
into another tight embrace. "Of course."  
From her spot in the doorway, Molly Umino let her blue eyes fly to   
Melvin. "So, that's squared away, isn't it?"  
Taking off his glasses and polishing them on his white business   
shirt, the man wrapped a protective around his wife's slender wait. "I   
think so," he agreed, watching proudly as his son held Lyra close. "It's   
an amazing thing, isn't it?"  
"What?" requested Molly, a bit confused.  
"That they've found each other without our poking and prodding." He  
slipped the glasses back on in a fluid movement, sighing wistfully. "I   
wish we could have done that."  
Chortling, she leaned into his arms. "Well, you always said that   
Serena was an amazing person, right?"  
"I said that?" kidded Melvin, leading his wife out of the kitchen   
doorway and into the family room.  
************  
  
"Daddy?" asked a small voice.  
Andrew looked slowly up from his paperwork and glanced down at the   
blonde girl before him. "Hi, Celeste," he smiled, hoisting her into his   
lap. "What do you need, sweetie?"  
She sniffled, and he could see stains on her cheeks from what had   
most likely been numerous tears. The usually chipper green eyes were   
bloodshot, and she looked extremely upset. "I'm... I'm really worried,   
Daddy," she stuttered, staring into his brown eyes. "I saw a lady almost   
die this morning, and I realized that...that..."  
"That you'll die someday?" he inquired, lightly touching one of her  
pale cheeks. "Is that what you're so worried about, little one? That   
you're going to die?"  
Nodding, Celeste leaned into her father's arms. "I'm a Sailor   
Scout!" she cried loudly, not looking up. "And so was Mistress Uranus!   
But she's lying in a hospital bed and I'm right here... Who's to say that  
I won't be next?" She stared up with teary moss-colored eyes.   
"There's no promise you won't." He glanced at Mina, who was   
watching the whole scene from the sink with a minor interest. "There's   
this thing called faith, little one..."  
Celeste sniffled. "So, I just have to believe in myself?"  
"I know," Andrew admitted, "that I'll sound like Tuxedo Mask,   
but... That's really all there is to it. "  
Drying her hands on an orange towel, the blonde woman walked over   
and glanced down at her little girl-a girl who was quite like the Scout   
of Love had been at age six. "Today has been a bad day, hasn't it,   
'Leste?"  
"Yep," said the girl, a tear still dripping down her cheek. "But,   
maybe tomorrow will be better."  
Mina smiled proudly at her daughter. "I think you're right," she   
told the girl. "I really think you're right."  
************  
  
"That was fun," smiled Susan, standing beside her red corvette. "I   
really enjoyed spending that time with you."  
Terrence laughed lightly. "Did you like your supper, dear?" he   
joked, putting his hands in his pockets.  
Laughing, Susan tossed a few strands of green hair behind her.   
"That was great, too," she replied. Noticing his wistful gaze, she froze   
in mid chuckle. "What?"  
"Sets, you know what?" Terrence put his hands onto her shoulders   
and stared hard into her eyes. "You are the most wonderful, provocative,   
carefully cold, beautiful, deep, impossible, and yet perfect woman I have  
ever been near." Kissing her tenderly, he smiled. "In all my life, few   
relationships have been so fulfilling and fun."  
Not quite knowing what to say, Susan threw her arms around his neck   
and gave him a passionately, breath-taking kiss.  
Pulling away slowly, Susan climbed into the car and grinned. "It's   
kind of funny that my best ever relationship came out of getting   
pregnant," she commented as she put the key in the ignition.   
He nodded and, as the car drove off, smiled sadly as he found the   
planet Pluto in the night sky, sparkling with a beauty that could only   
rival that of Susan.  
Saying a silent prayer to the planet, he made his way into Crystal   
Palace.  
************  
  
"They did what?" Orb looked doubtfully at the three girls, who were  
sitting around in the Urawa's living room watching Sunday morning   
cartoons. "You're kidding, right?"  
Yawning, Phoebe stretched and poured some more coffee into her cup.  
"No, I'm not." She blew on the drink to cool it. "Haley told me that   
there was an anti-drag racing committee, and she was so psyched about   
going that..."  
Cutting her off, Lyra laughed at the cat. "You worry too much!" she   
exclaimed while helping herself to some oatmeal. "It's not like the whole  
thing's a Raider pl..."  
Everyone stared at the blonde girl as she trailed off and looked   
guiltily at the floor.   
"You don't think..." Alice shuddered, gulping nervously. "It   
couldn't be..."  
The cat growled at the girls. "NOW you understand what I'm   
saying!" he shot at them as they all nervously stared at one another. "If  
it's a Raider plot, Haley is a sitting duck!"  
"Not to mention," added Alice, "Hannah and Brian."  
"Oh, dear..." sighed Lyra, depositing her bowl unceremoniously upon  
the coffee table. "Well, we have to get going."  
"What?" Orb stared at her with wide gold eyes.  
Phoebe stood too, downing the rest of her coffee in one fluid   
movement. "You heard us," she told him nonchalantly, still half-asleep.   
"We're going to the drag strip to try and save Haley."  
He attempted to protest the idea, but Alice cut him off.  
"You have to call Reeny," she assured him. "And Tara. Probably   
Susan, too." Rubbing some of the sleep from her eyes, she stretched.   
"We'll make this an all out-Mistresses and Scouts, protecting the world   
together."  
Nodding solemnly, he smiled up at the three teen girls. His charge,  
Phoebe... Mina's daughter, Lyra... and Artemis' new care-taker, Alice...   
All Galactic Sailors in their own right.  
"Good luck," he smiled at them as they raced out the door. "Good   
luck to you all."  
************  
  
"Where the heck is Ms. Kaioh?" whined Johanna, stretching and   
almost knocking a music stand over with her feet. "I'm missing some of   
the best Sunday morning cartoons right now!"  
Irina, who was flipping through a battered manga, glanced at the   
curly-haired teen with obvious annoyance. "This isn't like her, and it   
won't be," she responded casually. "She's been acting like a fruitcake   
lately, and I won't deny it."  
"Yeah!" chimed in Kevin, still wearing his repulsive orange shirt.   
"And, besides, I'm missing wrestling!"  
Everyone groaned in exasperation, and various blunt objects flew   
toward the bassist's head.  
Katie smiled. "Well, who cares?" she asked smugly. "Once again,   
Alice ditched, so I get to play the solos!"  
"What IS with that girl, anyway?" asked Matt, a violinist who sat   
near the end of the section. "She's always running out, complaining about  
lockets, hanging out with Ms. Ten'ou's sarcastic daughter..."  
"MS. TEN'OU HAS A DAUGHTER?" chorused the orchestra, staring at him  
in disbelief.   
"Yeah," remarked he, not phased at all by the mass confusion. "Her   
name is Haley."  
Kevin hit himself in the head. "Haley Ten'ou, DUH! She's in my   
modern issues class!"  
"And..." prompted Johanna nosily.  
"She's nice," he responded, plucking at his bass strings.  
Just then, the doors burst open, and Michelle strode quickly in, an  
older man with wild gray hair in tow.  
"Well, class," she greeted them quickly, "I'm glad to see you've   
made it here."  
"How's Ms. Ten'ou?" asked Katie stupidly.  
Johanna beamed her over the head.  
"Fine," shot Michelle coolly, placing the score on her stand. "Now,  
I can't run this rehearsal because my two daughters disappeared this   
morning and I have to find out where they ran off to."  
Matt grinned from his seat. "Do they have names?" he asked evilly.  
Rolling green eyes, the conductor shot him a stern look. "Hannah   
and Haley," she sighed, warranting fifty rough gasps in unison. Ignoring   
them, she gestured to the man. "This is Mr. Tom Bowling, and he's a   
visiting conductor from the States," she told the group. "You're going to  
listen to him, and BEHAVE!"  
"Yes, ma'am," responded Irina sweetly while the others all   
snickered.  
Mr. Bowling stepped onto the podium and smiled warmly at Michelle.   
"I've got it all under control, Ms. Kaioh."  
"Good." The musician waved to her class before jetting off the   
podium and out of the room.  
"Now," Mr. Bowling said. "Does anyone here know what time this   
class ends?"  
All the kids sniggered.  
************  
  
"So, Susan, what REALLY brings you here?" inquired Alex, sipping   
her hot coffee. "I mean, small talk isn't your thing, and I know it."  
The green-haired woman blushed a little, but managed to change the   
subject. "How's the coffee here?"  
The blonde made a face. "Gross. I really don't like decaf," she   
retorted, studying her friend's face expertly. "But, come on! You're   
denying something."  
Giving up, Susan took in a sharp breath. "Frankly, the Scouts are   
in danger," she told the injured woman. "There's going to be a battle of   
incredible proportions today, and all the Scouts are going to risk their   
lives to save one."  
"Who?" asked the racer, already knowing the answer.   
"Haley," the Guardian of Time responded softly. "It will be Haley."  
Nodding, Alex started to pull the IV out of her hand. "Well then, I  
know what needs to be done, right?"  
"That's just it!" yelled Susan, digging her red fingernails into   
the woman's free hand. "I've seen the future in both cases, and-if you   
fight... Let's just say that, in that instance, you're not IN the   
future!"  
Staring blankly into burgundy eyes, she considered this. "Both   
cases?"  
She ran her hand nervously through green tresses. "If you don't   
fight, you live. And Haley lives. But..."  
"But?"   
"There's a good chance that Michelle will get hurt." Letting out a   
breath, Susan looked at her friend. "That's why I had to tell you this.   
If your soul-mate is in danger, you'll feel it, right?"  
"Yes..." sighed Alex, sipping the drink once again.  
"Exactly. You see...if you feel it and fight, you die. But, if you   
feel it but still let Michelle get hurt, then everyone will live." Seeing  
tears well up in a pair of green eyes, the woman gulped. "It's the   
hardest thing you'll have to do, Uranus."  
"It's starting, isn't it?" asked the other, ignoring the use of her  
Mistress name. "The killing, the pain..."  
"And," nodded Susan, "it won't end until the Raiders are banished   
from this world."  
Holding a hand to her face, Alexandra did something completely   
unexpected.  
She cried.  
************  
  
Tara ran into her mother's room, where the Mistress of Mars was   
working on paperwork.  
"Mother!" called the teen, bowing a bit. "Mother!"  
Raye looked up from the stack of bills and blew a black hair from   
her eyes. "Yes, Tara?" she asked sweetly, with a tad of annoyance in her   
voice.  
The teen tried to smile, but it didn't work and she ended up   
grimacing. "There is to be a battle today against the Raiders, and all   
able Mistresses are to come."  
"Already?" asked the adult, rising slowly. "I would guess that   
they'd wait until after lunch."  
Disregarding the comment, Tara looked at her mother. Green eyes met  
purple ones. "Do you want to fight, Mother?"  
"No," admitted the temple priestess softly, putting on hand on her   
daughter's slim shoulder. "But I do want to make the world safe again,   
and there's only one way to do that."  
"Which is killing," sighed the teen with a sad smile.  
Smiling at her child, Raye shrugged. "I've fought a lot in my life,  
Tara, and I've learned only one thing from it." Removing the beads from   
her wrist, she shook her head. "When it involves evil, dear one, killing   
is inevitable."  
The teen nodded. "So, shall we?"  
Her mother held the beads high. "Mars Eternal Power..."  
Tara raised the locket. "Earth Galactic Power..."  
"MAKE UP!"  
************  
  
"Mom!" Reeny went tearing through the marble hallways of Crystal   
Palace, losing all her klutzy ways as she ran. "Mom!"  
Turning a sharp corner, the Princess felt her breath catch within   
her throat and managed to gulp. "Mom?"  
Neo-Queen Serenity was sitting on a windowsill with a torrent of   
tears streaming quickly down her pale cheeks as she stared out of the   
window and down at the rose gardens below. "Hello Reeny," she choked, not  
looking at the teen. "I'm glad you came."  
"What's wrong?" asked the pink-haired girl, approaching her mother   
more slowly than she had previously been. "Did something happen?"  
The Queen chuckled. "Can't fool you, can I?" she rhetorically   
asked, glancing at her daughter with tear-filled blue eyes. "I got a   
telegram yesterday but never read it until this morning..."  
"And?"  
"You're like I was!" she observed with a wistful smile. "Always   
nosy in that cute sort of way. Oh, Reeny..." She gulped back tears as her  
eyes turned back to the gardens below where a few children-daughters and   
sons of handmaidens, most likely-played in the cool winter air. "Remember  
how the Silver Crystal touched all and gave everyone on Earth a life span  
of about one thousand years?"  
The Princess nodded, smiling at the antics of one little red-haired  
girl in particular. "So?"  
Serenity shook her head. "That doesn't protect against accidents or  
heart attacks, and..." Sighing, the Queen wiped a tear away. "Your Uncle   
Sammy died two nights ago of acute heart failure."  
"WHAT?" Reeny felt tears come to her eyes. "Uncle Sammy?"  
"He was old," the Queen sighed, fingering one of her two pigtails.   
"And he was sick. But I constantly missed him..."  
The Princess looked to her mother and let a tear roll down her   
cheek. Carefully but slowly, the teen climbed into her mother's arms and   
accepted a warm hug. "Oh, Mama..." she cried, tears streaming down her   
cheek. "I have bad news besides." Red eyes sparkled as she glanced at the  
Queen. "I'm to go into a battle and..." Sitting up a bit, she set a stoic   
expression to her face. "And I am to take the Silver Imperium Crystal   
with me."  
"The crystal?" Serenity sighed. "Then make it so, Reeny. You are   
the Princess." A glowing silver orb appeared in the air and floated into   
the girl's open hand. "Good luck, my dearest one."  
Willing the crystal to phase into the Locket of the Galactic Moon,   
Reeny smiled enigmatically. "I'll need it," she replied, holding the   
golden disc above her head. "Bye, Mom."  
"Bye, Reen," the Queen of the Earth said softly, an amazed smile   
crossing her face.  
"Moon Galactic Power!" Reeny yelled, her voice powerful as it   
echoed through the white marble halls of the Palace. "MAKE UP!"  
************  
  
"I don't like this whole arrangement one bit!" announced Haley,   
nervously glancing around the White Shores Racecourse. "Hannah?"  
The young woman clutched nervously onto Brian's hand. "Yep. It's   
the Raiders again."  
"Raiders?" asked the blonde man apprehensively. "Should we be doing  
something?"  
Haley groped around for the Locket of Comets while Hannah pulled a   
string of glass beads from her purse.  
"Guys?" gulped Brian nervously.  
Taking her locket into her left hand, Haley closed her eyes and   
drank in the warmth it was sending out. "We're going to become our alter   
egos."  
Nodding, the dark-haired woman looked at the black and purple beads  
solemnly. "You've got to hide, Brian."  
"But..." he protested, making a face. "You can't risk your lives."   
His girlfriend laughed and drew him into a tight hug. "As a mortal,  
Brian, you can't possibly understand how many times I've nearly died,"   
she chuckled, looking into his endless hazel eyes. "Or how many times I   
actually have...I've died twice before."  
"What?" he gasped in shock.  
"I was born as Hannah Tomoe, and I died in a lab accident. My   
father let an evil entity take me over to save my life. I was killed as   
Mistress Nine, then, and allowed to be reborn." Smiling a bit, she kissed  
him lightly on the cheek. "Death holds no fear for me..."  
"It should!" called a strong male voice. Raider Death jumped down   
from the tall announcing deck of the track. "Prepare for your end, Sailor  
Comet!"  
Hannah gasped. "ME?" she asked, tossing her beads quickly to Haley.  
"I'm not a Sailor Scout!"  
"Yeah, right," retorted the Raider, grabbing her by the front of   
her shirt. "Your hair and eye color must change when you untransform   
or...something..." he insisted menacingly. "And I intend for you to meet   
your maker."  
Pulling back his fist, Death prepared to punch her square in the   
nose.  
"Haley!" she called. "Now!"  
"Comet Galactic Power!" the brunette screamed, forcing the Raider   
to whirl around. "MAKE UP!"  
************  
  
"It's starting..." muttered Alexandra.  
Doctor Yioka looked up from where she was operating on the woman's   
broken leg. "Did you say something?"  
Heavily sedated but still awake, the blonde groaned. "The fighting   
is going starting..." she mumbled, staring at the light-haired doctor.   
"Haley and Hannah are in danger but I can't help..."  
The three operating room attendants looked to Windy for guidance   
and the doctor shooed then all out quickly. "Alexandra?" she inquired   
softly.   
"Here I am..." she continued. "A Planet Mistress and instead of   
fighting I'm having my leg reconstructed..."  
"Planet Mistress?" stuttered Windy. "Is that how you lived through   
the accident?"  
Alexandra groaned and drifted off to sleep.  
Gritting her teeth, Windy Yioka shook her head. "Well, I'll be..."   
She smiled to herself, continuing her work.  
************  
  
"Sailor Comet!" announced the teen as she came out of her   
transformation sequence. "Nice to see you again, Death. What's up?"  
"Why...you..." Letting the woman free, the Raider glared at the   
silver-and-orange fukued girl. "So you're one of those rotten Scouts?"  
Smiling smugly, she lunched the beads into the air and toward   
Hannah, who caught them cleanly and dragged Brian off the battlefield.   
"That would be me," she greeted him. "So, how ARE you doing, Death? I   
haven't seen you since yesterday and..." Rolling away from a bolt of dark  
energy, she smiled sweetly. "Well, I was worried about you."  
"Really?" he asked, jumping away as she kicked at him.  
"Yep!" she assured him, attempting to knock his feet out from under  
him. "I was afraid I wouldn't be able to kill you."  
Death let another bolt of energy fly, and this one hit its mark.  
"ARGH!" yelped Comet in pain as the darkness flew through her   
veins.  
"Stop!" came Sailor Phoenix's voice.  
Comet opened her clenched eyes and saw Sailors Phoenix, Polaris,   
Earth, and Aurora Borealis come running up, with the Mistresses of Mars   
and Saturn close behind. "Hey guys..." she choked, passing out.  
"Haley!" yelled Saturn, dropping to her knees in the purple satin   
gown. "Are you okay?" Seeing that she was unconscious, the youngest   
Mistress bristled. "You monster!" she screamed at the Raider, who was   
watching the scene in amazement. "You could have killed her!"  
"That was the plan," he coolly responded as the gleaming Silence   
Glaive appeared in her hand. "Now, step back and contemplate defeat."  
Another Raider, who was completely covered in red armor, appeared.   
"Sorry I'm late, Sailor Scouts," Violence smirked, drawing out his sword.  
"Who wants to fight me?"  
Phoenix closed her eyes. "Phoenix Heat..." she began as her blue   
braids levitated. "FLASHING!"  
The Raider swung his sword, parrying the attack.  
As Aurora, Phoenix, Polaris, and Earth battled against the red-  
garbed man, the Mistress of Saturn pointed her Glaive toward Death.   
"That," she spat, looking to the injured Scout, "is my sister, you scum."  
"That's nice," responded Death, throwing out a ball of power.  
Saturn held out an idle hand and the ball disappeared magically.   
"I don't think," she told him coldly, taking a step forward, "that you   
understand." She touched the tip of the Glaive lightly into his chest.   
"I am the Mistress of Saturn, and I will avenge the wrongs you have   
created."  
Seeing both Sailor Chibi-Star and Mistress Venus appear, she waved   
a hand toward the other battle scene. "Help them, Mina! I've got this   
under control."  
"You sure?" asked the fellow Mistress.  
"Positive," replied Saturn. "Go."  
Seeing the opening he so needed, Death kicked the legs out from   
under the Scout and proceeded to use his magic to throw the Glaive from   
her grasp. "Nice try," he smirked, pulling a dagger out of midair and   
holding it to her throat.   
"Death," she whispered angrily, "holds no fear for me."  
************  
  
Michelle dropped her coffee cup as a tight feeling passed through   
her chest. "Hannah," she softly whispered, shaking. "She's in danger!"  
Taking the beads from her wrist, the woman looked solemnly at a   
picture of her and Alex, remembering something that Susan had mentioned   
the day before.  
"Soul-mates are always with you, no matter where they are."  
The woman laughed nervously. "I have to fight without Alex, don't   
I?" she asked the sky.  
Sailor Pluto appeared, clad in a fuku that was getting tighter as   
the Scout got more pregnant. "Are you ready to go, Neptune?"  
She nodded, holding up the beads. "Neptune Eternal Power!" she   
called. "MAKE UP!"  
************  
  
"Aurora Borealis..."  
Violence threw Sailor Earth into the attacking Scout in one quick   
movement, both landing near the already knocked-out Phoenix. Sailor   
Polaris gulped and took a nervous step back. Four of the five present   
Scouts were unconscious, as was the Mistress Mars.  
The teen took a deep breath, knowing the truth.  
She was alone.  
"Ah, Sailor Polaris." The Raider took a step forward, warranting a   
nervous gasp from the Scout. "So we meet again."  
A purple rose flew through the air as the Starlit Prince gracefully  
landed next to her. "Hello, Polaris," he said as the rose pierced   
Violence's sword hand and the Raider screamed out in pain. "Quite a   
scrape you've gotten into this time," he observed.   
"Shut up," she sighed, ducking a the Raider clumsily swung his   
weapon with his bad hand. "You don't need to be sarcastic."  
"Die!" Violence lunged for the Scout but was pulled back by someone  
tugging on the back of his armor.  
"Didn't," began Mistress Venus, knocking him onto the ground, "your  
mother teach you any manners?"  
Polaris smiled as Chibi-Star ran up and gave her a bear hug. "You   
okay?" asked the little Scout.  
"I guess," shrugged the Scout, staring as Venus gave the Raider the  
lecture of a lifetime.   
"And another thing!" scolded the Mistress. "This armor is a mess!   
You need to get it cleaned, young man!"  
Groaning more in awkward annoyance than in pain, he blinked twice   
and disappeared.  
"Well, that's settled," smiled Chibi-Star, looking proudly at the   
blonde Mistress. "Good job!" she cheered pleasantly.  
Venus was about to respond when a blood-curdling scream cut through  
air, and the woman froze.   
"Michelle," she whispered, frantically running toward the sound.  
************  
  
"Death," he hissed evilly, "should hold fear for you, Mistress   
Saturn." The man brought his dagger closer. "It is the final step."  
She closed her purple eyes slowly. "I shall be reborn," she   
breathed as the metal touched her skin.  
"Neptune POWER!" screamed a voice, and Hannah felt it.  
The metal came away from her throat and she opened her eyes to find  
Death sprawled a good ten feet away, Mistress Neptune standing over him.  
"Uh..." Lightly fingering his now black eye, Death glared up at the  
woman. Her dress was of an aqua silk, and its trim was darkest color of   
blue that anyone could imagine. "So, Mistress Neptune," he coughed,   
blinking as the bruise grew. "We finally meet."  
Stepping lightly on his chest with her high-heeled shoe, she   
lowered her green eyes. "You," she growled, "stay away from my family.   
Understand?"  
"Who's your family?" asked the Raider in a quasi- innocent tone.   
Seeing Saturn rise and pick up her Glaive, he tensed. Very little time   
remained for him to complete the plan.  
But he would.   
Neptune stepped down a bit harder. "Sailor Comet and Mistress   
Saturn are my daughters," she informed him. "And Uranus is my   
girlfriend."  
Saturn walked over to where her mother stood. "Shall I?"  
"Never again," swore Death, "will you have to worry about me."   
Smiling smugly, he looked at the two Mistresses. "Because you are going   
to die. EXPLODING DOOM!" he cried.  
All energy, both positive and negative swirled about them, coming   
quickly together in one compact ball.  
"Run!" hollered Neptune.  
"Not," protested her daughter solemnly, "without you."  
The older Mistress took one look at the resolute woman and did the   
only thing she could.  
And, as her mother screamed, Saturn opened her eyes.  
For Mistress Neptune had shoved her clear of the explosion.  
************  
  
The scream made Brian jump.  
From his spot inside of the men's bathroom, he shuddered. It had   
been Michelle's scream, and he could feel someone's grief flowing through  
his body.  
Hannah's.  
There was a flash of crimson light within room and a green-haired   
woman appeared opposite him, a giant staff clutched in one of her hands.  
"Susan?" he gasped, eyes wide.  
She smiled. "You could say that," came the cool response. "I am   
actually the Sailor and Mistress of Pluto."  
He nodded, cautiously pushing his glasses up on his nose. "I see."  
"But do you feel?" Pluto inquired of him in an ambiguous tone. "Can  
you feel?"  
Looking at the ground sadly, he proceeded to sigh. "Do I feel   
Hannah's pain? Is that this feeling which sears through me?"  
"It is," she softly responded. "For you are her soul-mate; the one   
and only man destined for Saturn."  
Suddenly, he was unable to move. Sailor Pluto, eyes closed, waved   
her staff and her clothing changed from being a tight Sailor fuku to   
being a long and flowing crimson gown with black trim. "As her  
soul-mate," she softly whispered, "you are granted immortality."  
"Imm...Immortality?" he stuttered, staring into her garnet eyes.   
"How?"  
"Some of the Mistress' soul-mates," she responded, "are from the   
Silver Millennium of either the Moon, Earth, or Stars. Others are not."   
Holding the staff directly between them, she rested her hands on the   
enormous gem that sat atop the Key Staff. "Those who are not-and you are   
but the second-are granted with immortality. But, the immortality is not   
permanent. For, if Hannah Tomoe was to die..."  
"I would as well," Brian finished, watching in shock as the orb   
began to glow. "I love her, though... What should a little death matter?"  
Smirking a little, the Mistress of Time considered his comment.   
"Good answer," she finally said, closing her eyes once again. "Very   
good."  
Light, shimmering and silver, shot out of the Garnet Orb and   
traveled into Brian's chest. "Does it hurt?" she asked, her eyes still   
closed and hands still controlling the power which flowed freely into his  
chest.  
"It does not," he smiled, watching her with amazement on his face.   
"Should it?"  
"No."  
After what seemed to be hours passed, the light died and Pluto's   
Mistress clothing phased back into her normal clothing. "There," she   
smiled, opening her eyes and watching the Key Staff vanish into thin air.  
"I'm done."  
"And Hannah?" he demanded, relieved that he could once again move.   
"The battle?"  
"Go now," she commanded, her voice growing timeless. "See what you   
can."  
He thanked her and burst out of the bathroom, feeling a new energy   
and power with every step.  
For it was the power of love.  
************  
  
"Michelle!" screamed Venus, rushing over with two Scouts and the   
Starlit Prince in tow.  
Death doubled over, a bit hurt from the explosion. "Ugh..." he   
managed, looking over at the motionless body of Mistress Neptune. "Got   
her."  
"Not so fast!" announced one last voice. Looking up, the Raider   
groaned helplessly.  
"For love and justice, I am the pretty sailor-suited soldier Sailor  
Moon!" The familiar pink-haired teen, clad in the pink, red, and blue   
Sailor fuku, stood upon a crate, looking at Death with angry red eyes.   
"You've hurt my friends, you've nearly killed three Mistresses and   
knocked another one unconscious, and I am just plan SICK of it!" Jumping   
down, she walked towards him and clenched one of her hands into a fist.   
"In the name of the moon," she announced, delivering a swift uppercut to   
his chin, "I will punish you!"  
The few remaining Scouts and Mistresses all cheered as Death flew   
backwards into a building.   
"You," Sailor Moon assured him, willing the crystal into her hand,   
"are lunchmeat."  
"Please," he begged. "I'm not ready to die."  
She raised the crystal above her head and looked down at him with   
hate-pure, searing hate-in her eyes. "See you in Hell," she spat as the   
crystal activated and turned him into Moon dust.  
************  
  
"How sweet," chortled Windy, scrawling on a chart. "Both of you in   
the hospital at the same time."  
Trying not to laugh, Michelle coughed several times and took a sip   
of water. "I'm a Planet Mistress," she managed groggily. "I have a high   
constitution."  
"Yeah," commented Alexandra, hobbling around the white-walled room   
on crutches. "But at least I'M mobile."  
The aqua-haired musician threw her paper cup at the blonde. "Shut   
up."  
Doctor Yioka all out laughed at this. "Now, you two... You've got a  
whole three days to share this room. Behave."  
The door them burst open and Irina, Johanna, Kevin, and Katie burst  
in, carrying to bouquets of flowers. "Hi, Ms. Kaioh! What's new, Ms.   
Ten'ou?"  
Smiling politely, Michelle looked at the four orchestra members.   
"I'm alright, I suppose..."  
Kevin nodded, smoothing the fabric of his orange shirt. "Haley   
wasn't in school today."  
"We..." The two Planet Mistresses looked at one another and   
blushed. "I know," Alex smiled, staring at the floor. "She had an   
accident as well."  
Katie gave one bouquet-twelve enormous orchids-to Michelle and   
smiled. "You guys have the oddest family...constantly getting into   
accidents and injuring yourself!"  
The two blushed again and, sitting on the edge of her lover's bed,   
Alex cleared her throat.  
"Alright, enough," she declared, looking at the quartet of   
students. "How much do you know?"  
"Know?" asked Johanna curiously. "You tell us!" She handed ten   
lilies to the blonde with an evil smile on her face.  
Irina rolled her eyes. "We're the four most observant..."  
"And nosy!" added Kevin, interrupting the concertmistress.  
"...students at your high school," she finished sweetly. "We   
figured it out, guys."  
"Oh dear..." sighed Michelle, shaking her head.  
"We won't tell!" announced Katie loudly. "Don't you worry!"  
Johanna nodded quickly in agreement, smiling. "You guys are, by   
far, the best teachers at school. We can't hold anything like love over   
your heads!"  
After the three girls and one young man left, the two glanced at   
one another. "That was...interesting," commented Alexandra, still sitting  
on her girlfriend's bed.  
"You're telling me," sighed the musician, staring at her orchids.   
"So..."  
"So..." Alex raised her eyebrows and leaned over, kissing Michelle   
deeply, not really knowing-or caring-who would walk in next.  
************  
  
A couple sat on a battered dock, watching the sun set over a   
crystalline blue lake. The silence was overwhelming as they watched their  
breath leave steamy trials in the late November air.  
"Hannah," Brian breathed to the young woman in his arms, "I have to  
tell you something."  
She glanced up at him, purple eyes filling with dreamy stars.   
"Hmmm?"  
"When you were fighting and Michelle screamed," he murmured,   
tightening his arms around her, "I felt this incredible grief run through  
my veins." He looked into the sky, seeing the first signs of stars   
appear. "And I knew that, whatever you were feeling, I was."  
Inhaling sharply, she looked up at him. "That only happens with my   
moms," came her amazed response. "Only with soul-mates..." Realization   
dawned over her face.   
He went on to tell her of the visit from Sailor Pluto, the silver   
light, and immortality.  
"...And I knew," he softly whispered, detaching himself from her   
and staring straight into her eyes. "I knew that very moment that,   
immortality or not, I wanted to be with you." Reaching into his pocket,   
he presented her with a tiny gold ring. Set into it was a small but   
beautiful diamond surrounded by fluorite-Hannah's favorite stone. "Hannah  
Tomoe, I love you," he announced, getting onto one knee. "I love you!"   
She blushed, laughing. "You're stubborn, rude, somewhat cold, and your   
sister is a viper, but I LOVE YOU!" His voice echoed through the night   
air. "And, if you don't marry me, soul-mate..." He sighed, turning   
serious. "Well, immortality or not, Hannah, I'll die." He slid the ring   
on her finger. "I swear that you'll want to use that Glaive of yours on   
me at least once, dear, but it'll be worth it. And..."  
"Shut up," she told him, tears of joy streaming down her cheeks.  
"If you keep talking, I'll never be able to say yes." Wrapping her arms   
around him, she sniffed. "You're my destiny, and don't you try to deny   
it. If I lost you, I'd...I'd..."  
Pushing his lips to her, Brian made sure that she'd never finish   
that sentence.  
************  
  
Galactic Sailors Say!  
  
Haley: (appearing) Okay, this is the most obvious one yet...  
  
Celeste: (appearing) If you're a drag racer and your newest opponent is   
named Red and has a car named Raider and doesn't look like a nice   
person-mmphf!  
  
(Haley gags the little girl)  
  
Haley: (clears throat) A-hem! ("Ein No Melody" Kate's favorite plays   
in the background) Sometimes, bad things happen.  
  
(Video clips of the car burning, Michelle in the hospital room, the   
Scouts all unconscious, and Hannah with a dagger to her throat)  
  
Hannah: (appearing) And, sometimes, good things happen.  
  
(Video clips of Alexandra waking up, Katie giving flowers to Michelle,   
the Scouts playing volleyball together, and Hannah in Brian's arms)  
  
Reeny: (appearing) But, the point is that jellyfish are evil and Pokemon   
yellow is the best video game in the world! (charming smile)  
  
(Dead silence)  
  
Haley: (smiling indulgently) Uhh... I was going to say that having faith   
in yourself is important.  
  
Hannah: And that destiny can be bad...  
  
(Video clip of Alexandra crying)  
  
Haley: It can also be wonderful.  
  
(Photo of the six Scouts and Celeste at the Royal Ball and Gala)  
  
Reeny: (pouting) I still say that Pokemon yellow is the best, you   
stupid-heads!  
  
(Picture of Pikachu)  
  
Haley + Hannah: The SANE Galactic Sailors say...  
  
All Scouts: See ya!  
  
-I Know-  
Look around...  
(Tara, sitting next to Queen Serenity, stares up at the night sky)  
So many things aren't clear...  
(Phoebe looks blankly at a math book)  
Don't worry, though...  
(Lyra smiles while picking up her tuba)  
You know that I'll be there...  
(Sailor Pluto and Haley smile knowingly at each other)  
A lot of things are so uncertain...  
(Alice looks sadly at a clock while the sun sets over Crystal Tokyo)  
The future's on its way...  
(Reeny holds the Locket of the Moon, smiling)  
Look at my crying eyes...  
(Luna and Artemis console an upset Diana)  
Don't take your love away!  
(Hannah sighs, looking at a sleeping Haley)  
  
Sometimes, the road looks long...  
(Mina looks at her children with Andrew behind her)  
And sometimes, the world seems wrong...  
(Alex and Michelle smile at one another and then blush deeply)  
But I know, I know, all you need is love.  
(The six girls, untransformed, hold their lockets high)  
  
Sometimes, you feel weak...  
(Lita smoothes the hair of a crying Alice)  
And sometimes, the future looks bleak...  
(Raye and Chad stand behind Tara, who is staring at her locket)  
But I know, I know, all you need is love.  
(The six Galactic Sailors stand in a half circle)  
  
Times will change...  
(Amy looks out of a window and at Crystal Palace)  
People will change, too...  
(Endymion looks at Serenity, who is pouring over a book)  
But deep inside...  
(Lyra hugs Celeste)  
I always will love you...  
(Diana falls asleep on Reeny's lap)  
I suppose there are questions now...  
(Alice and Phoebe stare blankly at one another)  
The answers are so far...  
(Michelle stands in front of the orchestra, talking)  
But look at me and smile now...  
(Tara lovingly hugs her father)  
I am your guiding star!  
(Haley smiles at a studying Hannah)  
  
Sometimes, the road looks long...  
(Mina looks at her children with Andrew behind her)  
And sometimes, the world seems wrong...  
(Alex and Michelle smile at one another and then blush deeply)  
But I know, I know, all you need is love.  
(The six girls, untransformed, hold their lockets high)  
  
Sometimes, you feel weak...  
(Lita smoothes the hair of a crying Alice)  
And sometimes, the future looks bleak...  
(Raye and Chad stand behind Tara, who is staring at her locket)  
But I know, I know, all you need is love.  
(The six Galactic Sailors stand in a half circle)  
  
I know...  
(The Planet Mistresses stand in a circle)  
I know...  
(The Galactic Sailors stand in a circle)  
All you need is love...  
(The Mistresses and Sailors all stand together, holding hands, with their  
eyes closed)  
All you need...is...love...  
(A single purple rose sits in a vase)  
************  
  
Okay, so there's seven.  
"You're my destiny" (a line used by Hannah) is actually from a   
song-"Destiny" by Jim Brickman.   
If you don't believe the whole "everyone lives for one thousand   
years"...well, it's in a manga. Read it with my own two eyes (thanks   
Misty!). So there!  
-Kate and Christina  
  
Merry Christmas!!   
  
"You could give me wings to fly and catch me when I fall...  
Pull the stars down from the sky so I could wish on them all...  
But I couldn't ask for more, cause your love is the greatest gift of  
all..."  
-"Your Love" by Jim Brickman  
  
"And someday we'll find it...the rainbow connection...the lovers, the  
dreamers, and me."  
  
-"The Rainbow Connection" from The Muppet Movie  



	8. A Christmas to Remember

A Christmas To Remember  
  
Author's Ramblings: (in a Mina-like voice) You know what they say... "Better late  
than sorry"... Wait, that's not it...hmm...  
Hi! Welcome to story 8...a bit late in coming, but here nonetheless. We hope you   
enjoy this and be advised--weird stuff is about to ensue. Ah, but do not   
fear...there will be NO hospitalized Mistresses in this episode! Count   
them...none! (cheering)  
Kate: no disclaimer today!  
I have no proof that Ambriel is a girl's name. In fact, I don't think it IS a   
girl's name... Well, I don't care, because Ambriel is a girl!  
"Into the Woods" is a really great musical by Stephen Sondhiem. I take no   
responsibility to owning it, and I'll never try. Please don't get angry that   
Pheebs is studying it, either... It IS a good musical. (I have the script. I   
should know.)  
************  
Re-cap du jour:  
  
Alexandra was in a nasty drag-racing accident. Susan dined with Terrence,   
Endymion, Serenity, and Reeny. Lyra found out that Richard is no longer going to   
Crossroads and ate dinner with Melvin and Molly. Celeste became scared of dying.   
Brian was announced to be Hannah's soul-mate, was granted immortality, and asked   
her to marry him. Michelle got hurt in a Raider attack. Death died. A lot of   
irrelevant orchestra scenes took place.  
  
And that, my friends, is where the story begins...  
************  
  
"I," announced Phoebe, staring at the tiny artificial pine tree in her   
living room, "hate Christmas."  
Her cat looked up from his spot on the couch. "You're such a pessimist," he   
yawned, rolling over onto his side. "Just because Amy and Greg aren't around this   
time..."  
She shot him a look of disgust but ignored the comment otherwise and dug   
through the box of ornaments. "I don't see how they can throw away memories so   
easily," she thought aloud as she took a string of lights out and plugged them in.  
"You know... Leaving me all alone and forgetting my meager existence."  
"There is," Haley added helpfully, walking out of the kitchen with a plate   
of cookies, "something called forgiveness."  
Alice faked sniffling. "Beautiful," she choked, wiping invisible tears from   
her eyes as she walked in behind the brunette. "Just beautiful."  
Haley beamed her with a pillow.  
"This is serious," sighed the blue-haired teen from her spot before the   
tree. "I've never spent a whole Christmas alone before, you guys. It's so   
weird..."  
Pulling her long hair into a high, Lita-like ponytail, Alice shrugged. "I   
was alone in sixth grade for Christmas," she volunteered. "Wasn't...really...all   
that different." The other two looked at her with concern in their eyes. "I mean,   
sure--my mom wasn't there and I was a bit lonely, but some of the best TV shows   
are on Christmas night..."  
Haley rolled her eyes. "That is the most pathetic thing I've ever heard,"   
she observed, hanging an orange ball on the tree.   
"What's pathetic," put in Orb, "is that tree. Reminds me of the Charlie   
Brown Christmas Special."  
Eight eyes stared at the fake foliage, which was a patchy four feet tall and  
had been purchased at a garage sale a week previous.  
"Well," sighed Phoebe, wrapping more lights around the shabby monstrosity.   
"It was the best I could do."  
"Really?" asked Alice with a confused gaze. "I've seen prettier things in   
the Dumpster at my building..."  
Haley glared at her and the auburn-haired teen backed down. "I, for one,"   
she smiled, seeing that her friend had shut up, "am just glad to see this   
Christmas!"  
"Here, here," agreed Alice cautiously. "Who knew that the life of Sailor   
Scouts was so tough?"  
Tears coming to her ice-blue eyes, Phoebe didn't respond.  
"And how about those Raiders?" asked Orb, sitting up. "I didn't know how   
hard they'd be, but you Scouts dusted the first three like regular pros."  
The brunette grinned. "We have our Moms to thank for that," she told him.  
Phoebe clenched the lights tighter in her hands, not noticing what she was   
doing until three bulbs snapped in her palm and the string died.  
"That's it!" she yelped, turning on them. "I don't want to talk about Sailor  
Scouts! I don't want to talk about Christmas! And I don't..." she glared at Haley   
in a state of anger. "Want to THINK about my mother!" Standing, she quickly   
stormed out the front door, slamming it behind her.  
Blushing, Haley picked up the colored glass from the shattered bulbs.   
"Ooops..." she gulped, studying the red, blue, and green fragments. "I guess I   
should be more careful about what I say."  
"It's not your fault," the other girl sighed. "We never stopped to think   
about how Pheebs is taking this whole arrangement, did we?" Seeing the looks on   
the cat and her friend's faces, she shook her head a little. "She hasn't been on   
her own before, and this is just scary for her..."  
The guardian jumped off the couch and sat between the two. "Go home guys,"   
he softly said, a sad smile painted on his face. "I'll talk to Phoebe as soon as   
she comes back."  
Alice patted the cat's head. "Merry Christmas, Orb," she smiled.  
"Merry Christmas," he sighed, looking at the dead Christmas lights and the   
barren tree. "Merry Christmas."  
************  
  
"Just a little taste?" pressed Susan, holding out the spoon to the blonde   
child.  
"Oh, no way, Miss Meiou," Celeste protested, backing up. "My mommy said   
never to eat your food."  
The woman groaned inwardly and resumed stirring the cookie dough. "Really,   
now?" she inquired thoughtfully. "And why's that?"  
Looking up at her babysitter, the girl smiled innocently. "Because it   
doesn't taste very good," she informed her, sitting back down on the tile and   
drawing on some blank paper. "And, besides," she added sweetly, staring up with   
deep green eyes, "it doesn't smell good either and Lyra said..."  
"I understand," interrupted the woman, clenching her fist around the wooden   
spoon. "No need explaining."  
Celeste shrugged. "If you say so, Miss Meiou," she grinned, picking up a   
purple crayon.  
The Guardian of Time let out a ragged breath. Mina had taken the three   
oldest children shopping, and the younger kids had gone to see Santa with Andrew.   
Celeste--who was terrified of Santa but had no desire to go shopping--needed a   
babysitter.  
"Saddle everything," muttered Susan sarcastically, "on cranky and pregnant   
Guardian of Time."   
"What was that?" asked Alexandra, coming into the kitchen laden with   
unwrapped gifts. "You don't have enough to do?"  
"Go to..." Seeing Celeste look up, the green-haired woman managed to fake a   
grin. "...Sam Goody. I heard that the CD Haley wants is there."  
"What are you talking about?" Alex deposited her gifts on the table. "I just  
want some tape."  
Susan stepped out of the way so she could get at some. "Have we heard from   
Hannah?" she inquired as the sandy-haired woman dug through the drawer.  
"Not since she went out with Brian last night," she shrugged, finding the   
item of interest. "She probably got..." Seeing the child glance up again, she   
smiled widely. "...a new video game from him for Christmas."  
Trying not to laugh, Susan cleared her throat. "Has she been acting funny   
lately?"  
"Yeah," commented Alex, bending over to adjust the leg brace. "She really   
has."  
"Miss Ten'ou," called little Celeste innocently. "Are you feeling better?"  
Rolling her green eyes, she patted the blonde head. "Fine, really," she   
assured the child with minimal sarcasm. "My leg still hurts, but that comes with   
the territory."   
"Territory?" repeated Celeste. "What's that?"  
Chuckling to herself, the woman picked up the gifts and started down the   
stairs. "And Michi wonders why I don't want more kids," she laughed.   
Shaking her head, Susan added a few more chocolate chips to the dough.   
"Why me?" she asked aloud, not really caring who heard or responded.  
The little girl's face gained a thoughtful expression. "You're one of the   
destined, Miss Meiou," she told the woman, green eyes sweet and caring. "All the   
destined have to do a lot they don't like."  
"What?" Nearly dropping the bowl, she glanced down to where Celeste was   
leaning against the cabinet.  
"Well, I know that you're Sailor Pluto and all that good stuff," she   
informed the adult, "and that's all well and good. But you're destined, and the   
destined have a lot to do."  
Looking in shock at her charge, the Guardian of Time put down her dish and   
sat down cross-legged on the floor next to the girl. "How did you learn all this,   
Celeste?" she asked softly, garnet eyes filled with confusion.   
Smiling knowingly, the child winked a green eye. "I have cool parents," she   
confided in the woman. "Now, can you please hand me that blue crayon?"  
Not quite knowing what to say, Susan carefully obeyed.  
************  
  
"Merry Christmas," smiled Doubt, hanging a few boughs of holly in the   
Raider's living room.   
Violence, nearly passing out from the woodsy smell and the odd décor,   
glanced quickly to the woman in the gray dress. "What," he shot, annoyance echoing  
through his deep voice, "are you doing?" Red eyes flying from the tree, to the   
holly, garland, berries, lights, and multi-colored boxes, he groaned. "Please tell  
me that I'm having a nightmare and somehow got transported to another universe."  
She made a face, still hanging holly from the mantelpiece. "You're so cranky  
in the mornings," she chuckled, glancing at him with a hint of consideration in   
her black eyes. "Don't tell me that, after all my briefings, you forgot what   
Christmas is."  
"I won't tell you," he responded, using his sword to clear off the couch.   
"You can find it out for yourself."  
Wrinkling her nose, Doubt snapped her fingers and watched in delight as a   
roaring fire alit in the fireplace. "Christmas," she informed him dryly, "is a   
seasonal event originally based on the birth Christ, the son of their God." She   
sighed and began placing bright glass balls on the pine tree. "It's become   
extremely commercialized over the last thousand years, but the fundamentals of   
the festival are still intact."  
He sighed, shaking his head. "Thank you, Raider Library," he commented   
casually, watching the fire with a moderate interest. "But I'd rather go to the   
dentist than celebrate the birth of some God."  
"Well, that's good to know," she shot at him, anger building in her voice,   
"but this all relates to our plot, and you can't be part of the plot without   
understanding Christmas!" With an elaborate gesture, the living room faded out and  
the two Raiders were in Violence's bedroom.  
Falling to the floor (because he was no longer sitting on a couch), Violence  
ran a hand through his crimson hair. "What in the name of..."  
"The Andromeda was that for?" she finished in a tone similar to his. "Why do  
you always snap at me before I get so much as a word out?"  
He sneered, but said nothing.  
"There is one part of Christmas," she continued, ignoring his expression,   
"that I didn't mention. And that, Violence, is Santa Claus."  
"Santa WHO?" he asked, eyes growing wide.  
Shaking her head, she sat in a high-backed metal chair. "He is an imaginary   
man...magical, they say...who lives in the North Pole. Gives gifts to children,   
nice guy... Kind of like a saint."  
Violence, catching the spark in her eyes, clambered to his face and took a   
step backward. "No way," he spat at her nervously, tense. "I will not dress up as   
Santa."  
"Too late," she shrugged, seeing the frantic glint in his eyes. "You're   
going to. I told the King, and he loves the idea."  
"But..." protested Violence.  
She smiled evilly. "Your suit is in the closet, and we go to the shopping   
mall in an hour." Winking playfully at him, she faded out of sight.  
Sighing, Violence shook his head. "Damn her."  
************  
  
"Deck the halls with boughs of holly..." sang Hannah playfully as she danced  
around the finished basement, setting out various decorations.   
Alex and Haley, who were both wrapping a large stack of gifts, glanced   
nervously at each other. Never before had the young woman gotten so excited over   
Christmas.  
The brunette teen pulled out a roll of paper and looked at her sister with   
concern. "She's singing," the teen gulped. "She's dancing. She's smiling."  
"Oh dear," her mother muttered, watching the dark-haired woman. "I'm scared   
for her life."  
Hannah made a face and smiled sweetly, with just a bit of wistful   
consideration on her pale face. "I'm fine," she assured them. "I'm completely   
fine. I'm BEYOND FINE!" Her grin grew beyond reasonable size as she looked at the   
two others. "Can you guys keep a secret from Mama and Auntie Suse?" she giggled in  
a school-girlish tone.   
"You're positively bursting at the seams!" observed Haley with a thoughtful   
gleam in her teal eyes. "Something's up, isn't it?"  
Smiling enigmatically--which came as a learned behavior from growing up with  
Susan--the older girl held out a hand. "Behold," she commanded, trying not to   
laugh.  
Her mother raised a sandy eyebrow. "It's your hand, dear," she noted,   
examining the cream-colored skin and the purple fingernails. "And a lovely one at   
that."  
Making a grievous face, Hannah removed a gold ring. "THIS is the important   
part."  
Haley gasped as she saw the tiny silver diamond set in the bright fluorite.   
"You mean that Brian...he asked you to marry him?"  
Alex stared blankly at her child, not knowing what to say.  
"I love him!" she grinned, replacing the ring and staring at it with starry   
purple eyes. "I never knew it, but he's my soul-mate, and I love him, and I'm   
going to marry him!"   
Sighing sadly, the Mistress of Uranus fiddled with her leg brace. "How lucky  
you are," she softly congratulated, a slight smile passing across her face. "I'm   
very happy for you."  
"Mom?" asked the teen, putting down the red ribbon. "Are you alright?"  
"Yeah," came the calm reply as the blonde mounted the stairs. Looking at her  
two daughters, concern lighting their young faces, she paused on the fifth step.   
"I'm going for a car ride," she sighed, continuing up the stairs slowly.  
************  
  
Looking at the seasonal signs, such as the brightly-colored tissue paper,   
the red-and-green wrapping, and the ribbons that were scattered about her bedroom   
floor, Tara let out a deep sigh. Christmas. The time of lights and love, when   
romance and giving flowed throughout the air. Everywhere, there was that sweet,   
spicy smell and certain fever in the world that just made it Christmastime.  
Except at the Cherry Hill Temple.  
Kicking over a box that was painstakingly wrapped and marked 'To Polaris.   
From Earth', the temple maiden sneered, remembering her mother's sharp words.  
"We are Shinto," Raye had spat, looking at the gifts with disgrace. "You may  
give gifts, but not in the spirit of Christmas." Tara, at that point, had   
attempted to disagree, but some sort of fury on her mother's behalf had halted   
that attempt. "We do not celebrate Christmas."  
"Well, Mother," Tara said aloud, snapping from her painful reverie with a   
sudden glint of anger in her green eyes, "I really don't care. I love my friends,   
and I will have my Christmas." Picking up the five wrapped presents, she started   
out the door, finding herself blinking back tears...ones that suddenly ached to   
fall.  
************  
  
"Ms. Meiou?" asked Celeste in a very nervous voice as the woman--exotic,   
young, intellectual--led her through the shopping mall.  
Susan looked down, maroon eyes sparkling timelessly as the had since the   
beginning of time. "You said yourself that the destined have to do things that   
they don't want to do..."  
The blonde girl sniffled as her babysitter pulled her into the seemingly   
endless line of parents and children. "But...Ms. Meiou..."  
"I used to fear Santa myself," she softly confided in the little girl,   
smoothing her golden tresses. "As a mortal child, that was my one true hate."   
Brushing dark green hair away from her eyes, the woman looked downward. "But I   
learned, Celeste. And so must you."  
With a look of terror upon her face, the child attempted to scream but was   
halted by a scarily familiar voice.  
"Ms. Susan? 'Leste?" A curly-haired teen, her redheaded boyfriend in tow,   
came up and got into the line with the Guardian of Time and the blonde child.   
"What in the world are you two doing here?" asked Lyra, a bit of twisted amusement  
in her voice. "Celeste hates Santa."  
Sticking out her tongue and pouting, Celeste wrinkled her nose. "Stupid   
destiny," she muttered loudly, forcing a slight blush upon Lyra's face.  
Richard raised an eyebrow just as his counterpart turned around to face him.  
"I know, I know," he smiled sweetly. "And I'm not planning to ask."  
With a polite gesture, Susan held out a hand. "I don't believe we've met,"   
she smiled, pushing up her glasses. "I'm Susan Meiou."  
"Richard Umino," responded the young man, shaking her hand eagerly. "You're   
a friend of Lyra's?"  
Lyra gulped. "Actually, this is Haley's aunt."  
As he was about to respond, Richard felt his breath catch and heard a   
scream.  
"We are the Raiders!" boomed a voice.  
Suddenly alert, Susan whirled about and stood upon her tiptoes. Sure   
enough, a red-armored man and a gray-garbed woman were standing at the front of   
the line, taking each child by the scruff of their neck and throwing them   
haphazardly about.  
The one in gray made a face. "Sailor Chibi-Star, we know you're here!"  
Celeste gulped. "Lyra?"  
"Susan?" asked the teen.  
Richard glanced at the three. "Uhh..." he stammered, completely confused.   
"Is this one of those times I shouldn't ask?"  
His girlfriend let out a long sigh. "Yes, it is," she managed, obviously   
distressed. "Can I go somewhere...without you?" she cautiously requested, a sad   
look on her face.  
Chuckling, he wrapped his arms around her. "I escaped your mom," he noted.   
"And with you, no less. Some Raiders? Bah!"  
"Don't joke like that," Susan scolded with a look of patient anger in her   
eyes. "In the long run, it will only hurt." With an mysterious grin, she took the   
younger girl in her arms. "Lyra, come."  
"I guess this is goodbye," sighed the blonde, looking up sadly as she heard   
more screams behind her.  
He shrugged. "For now."  
The words echoing only in her mind, Lyra Mokoti stuck one hand in her pocket  
  
and then ran away from the Christmas set-up, leaving an upset Richard alone.  
************  
  
"Perfection," observed Reeny cynically, "is a stupid cat thing."  
Growling, Diana watched as her pink-haired charge paced up and down the   
room with an encyclopedia balanced between the two nearly-round buns on her head.   
"You're just jealous," she retorted smugly. "After two hours of practice, you   
can't do one-hundred paces with good poise."  
Letting the book fall to the ground with an immense thump, the Princess   
turned on her cat. "All my friends are out Christmas shopping or doing something   
else that's fun and exciting! But me..." She fell dramatically onto the bed,   
knocking her cat halfway off. "I'm stuck practicing poise... Which I--by the   
way--will never use!"  
"You will," Orb assured her solemnly. "Trust me."  
"MOM never used perfect poise." Reeny shot a glare at her cat's orange   
brother. "And she's the Queen of the Earth."  
Orb snickered, obviously thinking of an evil joke to make. "Maybe if she   
would have known her poise," he suggested, "then she wouldn't have been put under   
that Dark Moon spell when you were little..."  
"THAT'S NOT FUNNY!" shot the teen, jumping for the cat. As he evaded her,   
she glared at him with hateful red eyes. "You're positively evil!" With an idle   
tear running down her face, she sat up on the bed. "My mother was trying to   
protect me and all of Crystal Tokyo when that happened! It was just a freak   
accident, and--if it weren't for her twentieth century self--you wouldn't be here   
today, you little toad!"  
Diana lowered her pink eyes. "That's enough..."  
"And another thing--I don't think you, as a guardian, should be so damn   
self-righteous! After all..." Freezing in place, she looked at the locket which   
hung idly from her neck. "Well, I have a locket alert you ingrate, so I can no   
longer beat you up over your stupid cat ways." Taking the locket and chain off her  
neck, she glared at the animal. "But you just wait until I get back, Orb... you   
are going to hurt all over."  
His sister glared at him. "Had enough of Reeny's verbal abuse?"  
"I haven't seen Phoebe all day," he sighed. "I'm coming with."  
The Princess lowered her eyes at the offending guardian but instead of   
giving him an ear-full, she cleared her throat. "Moon Galactic Power...make-up!"  
************  
  
Phoebe Urawa walked down along Crystal Tokyo's bustling Main Street, hands   
stuffed deep within the warm pockets of her orange parka. Everywhere, girls and   
boys were being held and coddled, sparking an odd semblance of jealousy deep   
within her very veins. For it was one week before Christmas, and it had been a   
Urawa family tradition to go shopping together every year--on the date which was   
one week from Christmas.  
Instead, Phoebe walked alone down the street, with strangers feeling sorry   
for the poor teenage girl without a family--the girl with the frown across her   
fine, adult features.  
"This is really pitiful," she thought aloud softly, walking into a fancy   
gift shop. "All alone before Christmas."  
The shopkeeper, a young sliver-haired woman with bright eyes, smiled gently   
at the teen. "Hello, Miss," she greeted. "Looking for a gift for your family?"  
"My family," responded Phoebe coolly, without any sarcasm in her young   
voice, "is a cat."  
Taken aback, the woman backed up a step, looking at her with doubt and   
taking a large gulp of water. "Your friends, perhaps, need gifts?" she attempted.  
Phoebe smiled warmly. "I didn't mean to frighten you," she responded in a   
friendly tone. "What I meant was that my parents moved away and left me to stay   
for schooling..."  
"...With you cat," quipped the shopkeeper, relief in her voice. "I'm Marie.   
Nice to meet you."  
"Charmed," responded the blue-haired teen, offering out a hand. "Phoebe   
Urawa."   
After a hearty handshake, Marie looked at her young customer with a   
thoughtful gaze. "You're not shopping, are you?" she questioned, not needing more   
than Phoebe's blush to answer her question. "Happens to the best of us, once we're  
on our own."  
"How come you're so open?" Flushing, the teen turned away. "I...I didn't   
mean it like that. I just meant..."  
"...That I was talking to a strange girl who walked in off the street,"   
finished the shopkeeper, running a hand through her oddly-colored hair. "Maybe   
it's because I've been in our shoes, Phoebe."  
Her ice-blue eyes sparkled as she turned around. "Really?" she gulped, not   
knowing what to expect. "You've been alone for Christmas?"  
Nodding, she winked. "Well, yes. One winter when I was sixteen." Sitting in   
a chair behind the counter, she beckoned for her companion to sit down. "My   
parents went far away for Christmas and took my brother with... He wanted to visit  
his girlfriend, and so they went to Tokyo. He was nineteen then, and...well, I was  
jealous that he got to go. So, I stayed alone."  
"And..." Phoebe smiled politely.   
"And I missed my parents and even my stupid big brother." Marie leaned back   
in her chair. "But, my brother proposed to his girlfriend that Christmas, and I   
had the most fun ever on my own, because it taught me how to get along alone." She  
shrugged. "He and his gorgeous wife are now parents to a sweet but sarcastic   
daughter and I now run a great gift shop."  
The teen's jaw dropped. "Wow. I'm a cranky person, aren't I?"   
Her friend shrugged. "Not really, Phoebe. You just don't get it." Pulling a   
bag out from under the counter, she smiled widely. "This is...sort of...for you,   
Ms. Urawa." AS the girl took it, Marie licked her lips. "And don't you worry about  
your parents--it will all be right, soon enough."  
As Phoebe exited, she stopped and looked back to see sparkling gray eyes   
smile at her. "Will I see you again?"  
Marie shrugged. "I think so," she responded warmly.   
Just then, a warmth radiated inside her coat and the blue-haired teen   
jumped. "Marie..."  
"Hmm?"  
"Can I use your washroom?" she asked, finding the Locket of the Sun in her   
pocket.  
It was warm.  
************  
  
"C sharp!" yelled Michelle, tossing down her baton in frustration. "Haley,   
do you even know what a C sharp IS?"  
The brunette frowned and looked up from the piano. "Yes, Mo... I mean, Miss   
Kaioh," she stumbled, marking some notes in the music. "Mom hasn't gone over it   
lately with me."  
Alex glared at her daughter from her spot in front of the synthesizer. "We   
did TOO go over it!" she retorted, hands flying to her hips. "You're just mad   
because I told you to mark the sharps and you didn't listen!"  
"Yes, I did mark them!" Haley shot back, warranting various giggles from the  
orchestra members. "You're just an idiot and didn't tell me about the key-change!"  
"You said you had it down!"  
"Did not!"  
"Yes, you did!"  
"No I..."  
"Enough, you two," shot Michelle, looking mostly to her blonde girlfriend.   
"And Alex, I want to talk to you after the rehersal."  
The woman made a face and played a grievous chord on her synthesizer, but   
said nothing more.  
The conductor smiled gently, picking the baton back up. "Measure   
eighty-four, with Alice's cello solo. Try to play with some dynamics, and be sure   
to..."  
She was interrupted by the sound of a cello bow clattering to the wooden   
floor.   
The auburn-haired teen blushed considerably as the entire orchestra turned   
expectantly to her, eyes staring.  
From the back of the room, Haley stood quickly up, sticking one hand under   
her shirt to where a little orange and silver disc hung from a leather strap.  
Warm. The locket was warm.  
"I...I have to go," stuttered the cellist, slowly rising. "Sorry. My...my   
pager went off..."  
Irina made a face. "But the concert's in three days, and you've hardly made   
two rehearsals this week!"  
The brunette at the piano smiled a bit at her friend before running out the   
back door to the room.  
Shaking her head, Alice's chestnut eyes turned sad. "I'm really sorry, but   
there's just some things..."  
Nodding her approval, the conductor smiled a mysterious half-smile. "Go   
ahead."  
The girl raced out of the room, Locket of Light clutched tightly in her fist  
as she ran.  
************  
  
Placing a large gift on the front porch of the Mokoti house, the   
black-clothed figure yawned and looked up at the darkening sky. It had to be   
about five in the afternoon. But she managed to smile, because all of the gifts   
had been delivered to their respective Scouts with minimal hassle.  
And it was then that a certain heat radiated through her body and she knew   
what is was.  
Pulling her facemask off, Tara reached under her shirt and pulled out the   
Locket of the Earth, looking at it with a slight smile.  
"Destiny's a fickle thing," she observed, running her soft fingers over the   
smooth surface of the tan and green Earth, a wistful smile across her face. "And   
I'm stuck, aren't I?"  
Shrugging to herself, she raised the locket high above her head, clearing   
her throat as she did so.  
"Earth Galactic Power..." she yelled, a certain ageless power in her voice.   
"MAKE UP!"  
************  
  
"Die!"  
Sailor Polaris clumsily rose to her feet, brown eyes sparkling with hate as   
a red sword lobed off a few brown-gold curls. Jumping quickly to the side, she   
touched the flattened top of her ponytail and grimaced.   
"Watch out!" yelled Susan from her spot at the second-level railing. "He's   
going to throw a quick sword jab at Chibi-Star if you don't do something about   
it!"  
The blonde reacted momentarily, pulling Chibi-Star out of the way within   
seconds of the Time Guardian's warning. The Raiders then backed up to one side of   
the tiny platform, and the two Scouts stood at the other end.  
"A showdown," breathed Richard from his place behind a plastic palm tree.   
As soon as the fight had begun, the mall had been evacuated, leaving two   
Scouts, a green-haired woman, and the two evil entities. Worried for Lyra's sake,   
Richard had hidden under a deserted information desk, later taking up his position  
behind the tree.  
"Give us the kid," demanded Doubt coolly, kicking the discarded Santa suit   
away, "and we won't hurt you or your friend." Gesturing to Susan with an idle   
hand, she smiled wickedly. "You can't possibly live through this, and we don't   
want you to."  
The younger Scout grabbed onto her sister's leg. "No..." she whispered,   
tears coming into her green eyes.  
"You," Polaris addressed Doubt, "seem to like deals. I'm willing to make   
one."  
Susan bristled, closing her maroon eyes quickly and allowing her   
all-powerful senses to reach out and attempt to find gaps in the time-space   
continuum. The Scout didn't notice this, but she did notice a sudden gleam of   
desire flare up in the black eyes of Doubt.   
"If you let the girl go," the Scout started, chewing on a lip, "then I'll   
give you the Locket of the North Star." Her hand hovered near the light-orange and  
gold mass, not touching it...yet...  
The two looked at one another, and then back at Polaris. "Are you buying   
time?" asked Violence in a low hiss, eyes suspiciously focusing on Susan. "Where   
are the other Scouts?"  
The girl bristled. "I have no way to reach them. They don't even know I'm   
here." Running a hand through her shaggy blonde curls, she looked once more at the  
female Raider. "Do we have a deal?"  
Shaggy blonde curls? Richard started, navy eyes growing wide. There was only  
one other person in the world who had curls like that! And the corn-blonde color   
of Sailor Chibi-Star's pigtails...  
"A deal." Doubt folded her hands together. "Chibi-Star is free to go."  
The little Scout didn't move a muscle. "No..."  
Bending down to her little sister, Sailor Polaris wiped all emotion off her   
face. "You go to Susan right now," she hissed in an undertone. "You don't attack,   
and you don't fight. You just go up the escalator, run over to Susan, and you tell  
her what's going on. NO fighting."  
"But..."  
"Go."  
As the child took one last look at the scene and took off running, Sailor   
Polaris bristled and stood slowly, smoothing the light orange skirt of her fuku.   
"A deal is a deal," she softly reassured them, her fingers touching the edges   
lightly. "And I will give you the Locket of the North Star."  
Doubt licked her parched wine-colored lips. "Yes..." she hissed, a wicked   
grin spreading across her face. "Yes, give it here. Give me the power..."  
The blonde Scout pulled the locket away from her chest, and there was an   
instantaneous flash of golden light and her mortal form appeared.  
Richard gasped in shock.  
Sailor Polaris was Lyra.  
As he stepped forward, prepared to intercept the locket in a noble,   
chivalric gesture when he saw a pigtailed shadow appeared behind the Raiders.   
With a slight smile, he looked once more at Lyra before slinking away behind the   
information desk.  
"I am Sailor Moon!" announced the shadow, jumping between the people and   
snatching the locket from Doubt's grasp. "On behalf of the Moon..."  
Smiling, the other girl accepted back her locket. "And on behalf of   
Polaris..."  
"You're punished!"  
Four other Scouts appeared, all surrounding the platforms with grins on   
their faces. "You're about to find out how the Galactic Sailors celebrate   
Christmas!" announced Sailor Comet, running a hand through her brown hair.   
The duo of Raiders glanced at the Scouts and at each other before   
disappearing in two puffs of smoke.  
"Whew, that was close," sighed Diana, jumping onto what appeared to be a   
giant gift. "What in Heaven's name just went on here?"  
Shaking her head, Lyra pocketed the disc. "I had to save Celeste's life,   
and..."  
"There you go, being noble again!" scolded the little Scout, jumping from   
the second level and landing gracefully on the first. "Why do you do stuff like   
that, Lyra?" She smiled lovingly and hugged her older sister. "Well, none the   
less... I'm glad you did it."  
Rubbing the back of her neck, she grimaced. "I just want to get home and   
call Richard."  
"Ooh... RICHARD!" giggled Sailor Moon, waving the Rod dangerously close to   
her friend's nose. "What is it with you two? Are you an item or what?"  
Lyra rolled her brown eyes and grabbed her little sister's hand, ignoring   
the Scout. "Let's go home."  
************  
  
Fumbling for her keys, Phoebe shook her head and placed the bag from Marie   
on the ground. "Where did I put those?" she asked herself, mentally promising to   
act more responsible and adult...next time she stormed out of the house in anger.  
"Today's been quite a day, hasn't it?" the orange cat put in, adjusting his   
position on the girl's shoulder. "You got mad at your friends and ran off, I got   
a verbal beating from our dear friend Reeny, then there was that nightmarish   
fight..."  
Growling, she kicked the door, interrupting the cat. "And I lost my keys!"   
she shot, clenching her fists in anger.  
"No you didn't," Orb responded in a serious tone. "You left them sitting   
right on the kitchen table."  
She lowered two ice-blue eyes into tiny slits. "What?" she demanded, glaring  
at him. "You mean that, after I left, you used the cat door and didn't bring the   
KEYS?" Anger resonated through her voice.  
Blushing, the cat jumped to the ground, sitting and allowing his expression   
to become very thoughtful. "Well, there has GOT to be a way inside," he assured   
her, his voice a bit shaky.  
Phoebe made a face. "You don't sound too sure yourself," she sighed, leaning  
against the door. "Face it, Orb... The only way we're going to get into this house  
is if..."  
The door behind her then opened, resulting in Phoebe landing on her   
red-skirted bottom halfway-in and halfway-out of the house.   
"WHAT'S THE BIG IDEA?" she roared, preparing to kill her cat. "What kind of   
dirty trick are you trying to pull, Orb?"  
Laughter behind and above her quieted the ranting as a pair of ice-colored   
eyes glanced up.  
And met familiar brown eyes.  
"Hi, Pheebs. Long time no see," Greg managed between occasional guffaws.   
"For being on your own, you sure forget a lot."  
Clambering quickly to her feet, the teen wrapped her arms around her   
father's neck and buried her head in his sweater. "Dad!" she exclaimed, nearly   
crying as he smoothed her dark blue hair. "It's so nice to see you..."  
He shook his head slowly. "There, there," Greg smiled, hugging her close.   
"Didn't you get the message?"  
"What message?" she asked, pulling away and looking up with doubt. "The   
machine reset itself a few days ago..."  
"I always said," came another, feminine voice, "that we need to get a new   
answering machine. That thing just hates people."  
Amy, clad in a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt, appeared out of the living   
room. "And what exactly is that monstrosity? It's that ugly green thing covered in  
garland and lights."  
Sticking up her tongue, Phoebe let go of her father and picked up her bag   
and her cat. "It's my tree," she chuckled, scratching Orb behind the ears. "The   
best I could do."  
Both parents smiled lovingly at their daughter before leading her into the   
house and shutting the door behind them.  
************  
  
The sun was just setting as Reeny sat down in front of Queen Serenity's   
fountain and stared into the clear, teal waters that swirled about the statue.   
"Wow," commented the teen. "I'm just glad that Christmas is coming soon,"   
she sighed, leaning back against the cool wood of the bench. "After all, even   
friendship can't beat love..." Feeling a tear roll down her cheek, the Princess   
knocked it away.  
"Truth is," she told the fountain, standing and walking over to the basin of  
water, "that I'm lonely. It's been a very long time since I've seen Helios,   
and..." Plunging her hands into the cold liquid, she held them there for a brief   
moment before pulling them out and placing them gingerly in her pockets. "It's   
like sticking your hands in that water, loneliness is," she choked, shaking her   
head of pink hair. "It hurts and...well, it's cold and encompassing."  
It was at that moment that Reeny heard someone--obviously a very young   
child--crying.  
Quickly glancing around the little grove of cherry trees where the fountain   
was located, the teenage Princess gulped. It was abandoned.  
But the crying, loud and desperately sad, continued, despite the emptiness   
of the area. "Hush?" she attempted, shaking a bit. "Quiet now?"  
The sobs ceased into muffled sniffles for a brief time, which was long   
enough for the Princess to find their source.  
A tiny basket sat underneath the largest of the trees, obviously placed   
there not in neglect but in careful consideration.  
"What in Heaven's name?" breathed the teen, kneeling before the basket and   
lifting the lid. "It couldn't possibly..."  
Within the basket, swaddled in thick blankets and looking up with frightened  
gray eyes was a child, no older than two years, with frizzy red hair. Reeny   
touched the girl's forehead lightly, a habit that had developed from the time when  
she had first seen Michelle handle the reborn Hannah during the twentieth century.  
A surge of power ran through her arm, and Reeny pulled back her chilled fingers   
in shock.   
The child was of Silver Millennium bloodlines, and Reeny could feel the   
sensation of it coursing through her veins.  
"A baby..." she whispered, picking up the child and cradling her in cautious  
arms. "Who left you here, little one?"  
The child cooed, smiling a large grin from within the layers of blankets.   
Whoever had left the child had done so carefully, covering it and insuring that no  
warmth would be lost to the harsh winter night.  
A sheet of paper floated to the ground, and Reeny picked it up, opening it   
with one trembling hand while supporting the child with the other.  
"Please," read the note in a messy scrawl, "take good care of my daughter.   
There are certain things about her that I have yet to understand, and I need   
someone to teach her. To love her." A tear ran out of red eyes as the Princess   
read the note. "And...Ambriel. Her name is Ambriel."  
Pushing a red bang out of Ambriel's stormy eyes, the Princess of the Earth   
smiled sadly. "Well," she softly cooed, rocking the little girl in her arms. "It   
seems I no longer have any right to be lonely, eh?"  
************  
  
"No, Sarah," scolded Mina, smacking the brunette's hand lightly with her   
spoon. "No more cookie dough for you."  
Rolling the gooey substance into small balls, Lyra wiped some of the flour   
off her forehead. "This is so much work," she observed aloud, placing two more   
completed balls on the baking sheet. "Who knew that making cookies was so hard?"  
Her brother Paul, a sarcastic eight years old, stuck out his tongue at her.   
"We do this every year," he reminded her, mixing the dough with a wooden spoon.   
"This is easier than beating up Raiders," pointed out Celeste helpfully,   
then blushing as six of her seven siblings stared at her in either confusion   
or--in Lyra's case--embarrassment.   
But, before any of the Mokoti children could drill the loud-mouthed girl on   
her comment, the doorbell rang. Springing from her stool, Lyra went to answer it,   
her mother hovering not too far behind.  
"Hi, Star," Richard smiled when the door was answered, stepping in the   
house, gift bag in hand. "Could I talk to you?"  
Six faces, ranging from ages ten to four, peeked curiously out of the   
kitchen. They were all covered in various amounts of flour and dough, causing the   
oldest family member to groan. "How's outside sound?"  
He shrugged. "Great."  
As they walked through the door, Mina cleared her throat in a tone that   
could only be identified as devious. "Mistletoe," she pointed out, spoon aimed at   
the plant above them. "House rule."  
"MOM!" objected the teen, a deep blush creeping across her face. "That is   
just about the STUPIDIEST rule that I've ever heard!"  
The young man ran a nervous hand through his dark red hair. "Umm..." Kissing  
her quickly on the cheek, he smiled hopefully. "There?"  
Chuckling, the Mistress of Venus walked away.  
Walking out onto the porch, Lyra sighed and shut the door carefully. "Is   
something wrong, Rich?" she inquired, wringing her hands. "You seem upset."  
"I am," he replied. "I mean, it's my own fault, but..." Trailing off, his   
blue eyes met her brown eyes, and neither dared look away until a flash of light   
interrupted the stare.  
"Shooting star," breathed the blonde, chewing on her lip. "My mom always   
said that shooting stars bless the couples that see them."  
He sighed. "Lyra, when those Raiders attacked..." he stammered, gazing   
lovingly at her as she stared off into the night sky. "Well, I didn't run. I hid,   
yes, but I watched the battle."  
Paling, she whirled around and met his gaze. "All of it?"  
He nodded and stepped a bit closer to her. "I know that you're Sailor   
Polaris, Lyra." Touching his hands lightly to her hips, he smiled. "But I just   
want you to know that I don't care. This won't change anything."  
"Really?" she gasped, staring up with an amazed half-smile.  
"Would you like me any less if I were Tuxedo Mask?" he joked, making her   
giggle sweetly. "I rest my case."  
And, bending down and letting his hands slide farther around her slender   
waist, Richard allowed his lips to meet those of his girlfriend.  
Lyra, half shocked and half full of uncontrolled excitement, threw her arms   
around his neck and leaned into the warm, loving embrace.  
When they pulled apart, he picked up the gift bag that had been dropped   
during the shooting star and handed it to her, still a bit shaken by the kiss.   
"Merry Christmas," he wished her, touching his lips lightly to her forehead. "I'll  
call you, alright?"  
She nodded sheepishly and waved as he climbed into his black car and drove   
off.  
Opening the door, Lyra kicked off her shoes and leaned against the wall, a   
wistful smile crossing her face as she touched her fingers to her lips in a dreamy  
trance-like gesture.   
Mina walked out of the kitchen and looked at her daughter, gaze filled with   
both admiration and disdain. "Lyra?"  
"Hmm?" asked the girl, glancing at her mom.  
"There wasn't mistletoe on the porch, dear."  
************  
  
Gray-green eyes met green eyes as the Michelle crossed her arms.  
"What has been wrong with you lately?" asked the violinist, glancing across   
the office at her girlfriend. Seeing Alex grit her teeth, she continued. "Lately,"  
she shot, "you've been cranky, cynical, and angry. Usually, I wouldn't be all that  
concerned, but this... This is different."  
The blonde tossed her head and avoided eye contact. "I really don't want to   
discuss this," she coolly retorted, shaking her head. "Forget about it."  
Michelle walked over to her love and placed one hand on her forearm. "I've   
known you for quite a few millennia," she sighed, a sad smile passing across her   
face. "You can't relieve me that easily."  
"It's just... I..." Alex smiled down at her companion with a slight shrug.   
"This morning, I realized something for the first time."  
"Which is...what?" Confusion spread across the green eyes as the musician   
stared upward.  
"I want to spend forever with you, Michi," responded Alex, pulling away from  
her lover's warm body. "Not just in the same house, same room, same children. I   
mean..." Clenching her fists in frustration, the woman kicked the wall. "I want to  
be married to you... I want us to share our lives in more that just the material   
way, and..." A tear, extremely rare to the 'tough' Alexandra, fell to the white   
carpet, a tiny spot appearing.   
Her eyes considerate and her whole body shaking, Michelle stepped forward   
and touched one of the strong shoulders that she loved so much. "I know, Alex, I   
know..." she sympathized. "And, any other time, I would have side-stepped the   
problem. But I've learned something in the last few weeks." The blonde turned   
around, and her counterpart nervously massaged the back of her neck. "Why not,   
Alexandra? Why not? Let's get married!"  
Jaw dropping, the taller woman wrapped her arms around her beloved and   
positively lifted her off the ground. "That's the greatest idea ever!" she   
announced, pulling a bewildered Michelle close. "I'll call Raye and get that all   
straightened out. And Endymion will, of course, have to be the best man, and then   
there's the matter of clothes and..."  
"Slow down," suggested the aqua-haired woman. "You'll hurt yourself." A   
delighted smile passing across her face, she took a deep breath. "Are you sure   
that you're ready to do this?"  
Nodding, Alex dropped onto one knee. "Michi," she began in a serious tone.   
"I love you. I've loved you about a million different times, in trillions of ways.  
But it will not be enough until you're my wife." Smiling like a giddy schoolgirl,   
the blonde tomboy pushed sandy bangs from her eyes. "And I want to do this before   
Christmas."  
Michelle choked on her own breath. "Before... Christmas?" she gasped.  
Jumping to her feet in a fluid motion, the racer, pianist, and Planet   
Mistress shot one last smile at her love. "I'll call Raye, and you call Endymion,   
Serenity, home..." Taking Michelle's hands, Alex grinned excitedly. "Call everyone  
you know!" she yelled in a voice that had never before been heard coming from the   
Mistress of Uranus before. "Because we're FINALLY GETTING MARRIED!"  
************  
  
"Well, what do we have here?" inquired Amy sweetly, staring at the   
ultrasound screen with considerate navy eyes.   
Susan just sighed. "I really wish that we could do this during the day," she  
muttered cynically, looking at her doctor with a disgusted expression.   
Shaking her head of blue hair, the Mistress of Mercury continued her work.   
"It would look very suspicious," she informed the woman, chewing thoughtfully on a  
pink lip. "Because you're a Mistress, you progress quickly." She pointed at   
Susan's reasonably round belly. "It's been two and a half months, and look at you.  
I don't even live in this country, on top of it." She shrugged. "And, besides, I   
specialize in treating children, not exotic-looking pregnant women." Staring   
blankly at the screen, she gasped a bit. "Oh my."  
This made the Guardian of Time extremely nervous. "Is something wrong with   
my baby?" she nervously asked, trying to contort herself to see the picture. But,   
Amy had wheeled the machine into the room and positioned it at an angle that made   
the patient unable to see what was going on. "Is it something bad?"  
"That depends," responded Amy, "on how you look at the situation. Now, hold  
still," she commanded. "I just need to get a good printout and then you get the   
full run-down."  
As the little printer ran off the first ultrasound sheet, Susan sat up and   
pulled her black shirt back in place. "I really don't like maternity clothes," she  
sighed with a shake of her head. "They're not at all nice looking."  
Chuckling, the doctor handed a picture from the ultrasound to the   
green-haired woman. "Tell me what you see," she smiled, folding her hands.   
"I see a baby," the other woman commented. "Twice over."  
"Twins," corrected Amy casually, picking up the rather thick file labeled   
"Setsuna 'Susan' Meiou". "It's not the same baby."  
Dropping the sheet, the Guardian of Time felt her strength drain away. "I   
need to sit down."  
************  
  
Looking at the Princess with shocked eyes, Lisa dropped her armful of   
towels. "A baby?" she repeated in doubt, staring into the basket. "What in   
Heaven's..."  
"Now, Lisa," Reeny cut her off, smiling down on the slumbering child,   
"don't jump to conclusions. I found her in the Courtyard of Serenity."  
The handmaiden ran a hand through her blonde tresses. "And why exactly do   
you want my help?" she questioned, voice shaking nervously. "Just show your   
mother, and..."  
Sitting on the edge of the bed, the teen shook her head. "It's not really   
that simple," she explained. "I can feel the power of Silver Millennium bloodlines  
course through this child, and..." Leaning back, Reeny sighed. "If I take her to   
mother right away, I know that I'll have to give her up. But I'm lonely..."  
"Princess Serenity," groaned the woman, shaking her head. "I don't know if   
it's in the royal decree, but hiding children from the Queen has GOT to qualify as  
high treason."  
"It's not hiding!" protested the girl, sitting straight up. "It's just   
aiding me until I can consult Luna, Diana, Orb, the Galactic Sailors... and anyone  
else who has half a clue about babies!"  
Lisa backed up. "No way, Princess," she argued, blue eyes still glued to the  
child's peaceful face. "It's treason!" She paused reflectively. "And, even if it's  
not... Well... I have morals."  
Turning cold, Reeny lowered her eyes. "As your royal Princess," she spat at   
the blonde, voice resonating with authority, "I order you to help me."  
"Princess..." whined the handmaiden, a beaten expression crossing her face.   
"I don't want to..."  
"Lisa," she softly said, voice caring and sweet, "you're the only one I   
trust. In all of the Palace, I picked you to help me." Seeing a spark of sadness   
in the pale eyes, Reeny grinned. "I know that I'm a big pest, and I am NO   
Neo-Queen Serenity, but I need your help." She smiled sadly. "Please?"  
Picking up the towels that had landed on the floor, the young woman shook   
her head. "Somewhere in the laundry room, there's a box of baby clothes from when   
you were young, and..." A hopeful grin crossed a teenage face.   
With a shake of her head, Lisa sighed. "I'll be back in an hour."  
************  
  
Placing the phone in the hanger, Haley let a smile cross her face. "Hannah,   
you'll never guess what Mom just told me."  
The black-haired woman looked up from her chemistry notes. "Umm... They're   
skipping town and won't be home to eat Susan's stew?" she mused, chewing on the   
end of her pen. "Honestly," she sighed, "I haven't a clue."  
"Mom and Mom," announced the brunette in an amazed voice, "are getting   
married in a week."  
Violet eyes grew wide as this news entered Hannah's ears. "You're kidding!"   
she gasped, an excited smile passing across her face. "They couldn't be!"  
"Well, they are," responded Haley in a casual tone, sighing wistfully. "I   
didn't believe it either, but I guess Alex went to get some rings picked out and   
Mom's calling everyone and inviting them to Cherry Hill next Sunday..."  
Shaking her head but still grinning, the young woman sighed. "Did you ever   
suppose that this would actually happen?" she asked softly, doodling little Sailor  
Uranuses and Neptunes on the edge of her paper. "That they'd get married?"  
Teal eyes glistened in amazement. "I blame it on your silly engagement," the  
younger girl announced. "And, you know what?"  
"What?" shot Hannah, a bit put off by her sister's words.  
"Thank Brian for me," finished the teen with another smile and a wink.  
************  
  
Seven Galactic Sailors and three Moon cats stood around the tiny basket in a  
circle. Bright, noontime sunlight filtered through the skylight and onto the group  
as they stared down at Ambriel, how was contentedly playing with a Luna stuffed   
animal.   
"This is quite a Christmas," observed Alice with a half-smile. "Richard   
knows about Lyra's identity, Michelle and Alex are getting hitched, Hannah and her  
boyfriend are inches away from announcing their engagement..."  
Phoebe cut in with a grin. "My parents are back..."  
"Susan's having twins," announced Haley, tucking a few loose hairs behind   
her ear.  
"And," added Luna helpfully, her timeless voice strong in the marble   
bedroom, "Reeny found a baby."  
"Quite a Christmas," smiled Celeste.  
"A Christmas," added Lisa, bustling into the room with baby clothes, "to   
remember." Holding out a baby book, the handmaiden glanced down at the child.   
"According to Doctor Spock here," she informed the motley grouping, "Ambriel is   
about two years old. She should be able to walk and at least say something."  
Picking up the little girl, Reeny placed her feet on the cool stone floor.   
Sure enough, the child was toddling around like an expert within seconds. Her tiny  
face was screwed into an expression of pure delight as she walked about the   
circle, gray eyes meeting the gaze of each Scout and cat as she explored.  
"Silver Millennium bloodline," confirmed Luna as soon as the child's glance   
met her orange eyes. "I can feel it run through me."  
Orb knitted his eyebrows together. "Then, how did she get here to the   
thirtieth century?" he inquired curiously, looking at his mother with amazement.   
"She's just a little girl..."  
A flash of white light appeared and then, as if by magic, a pen of some   
sorts dropped into Ambriel's outstretched palm. "Angel..." she cooed in a tiny   
voice, holding the object out to the Princess as the light died. "Angel Moon."  
Red eyes grew wide as Reeny took the pen from her. "Angel Moon?" she   
repeated, fingering the silver, white, and gold pen. "What in the name of the MOON  
does that mean?"  
Clearing her throat, Tara folded her hands. "Angel Moon," she explained in a  
soft voice, "is a legend that has been passed down for generations through the   
Silver Millennium bloodlines." Everyone looked at her oddly, and she tucked her   
black tresses back behind her ears. "When I was really little," she continued,   
"and I got tired of my 'Sailor Moon' storybook, my mother would tell me the story   
of Angel Moon, an angel who was born on Earth and abandoned suddenly in order to   
preserve the stature of all the angels in Heaven. Angel Moon, through a bit of   
sorcery, became a defender of love and justice and..." Her green eyes sparkled   
knowingly as she said this, and Ambriel glanced up sweetly. "Well, it IS just a   
legend," Tara finished. "But I wouldn't be surprised if..."  
Her magenta eyes reflective, Diana cleared her throat. "If all Sailor Earth   
says is true," the cat ruled, "then I feel that the royal family should raise   
Ambriel."  
"And, besides," pointed out Phoebe in a helpful tone, "Reeny found the kid.   
It wouldn't be fair to give her up." All eyes turned to the blue-haired girl. "I   
mean, she saved the kid's life, and she's been taking phenomenal care of her..."  
"With some help," added Lisa quickly.   
All the Scouts looked down at the child in silence, but it was Celeste who   
next spoke.  
The blonde girl crouched down slowly, and smoothed the fuzzy red hair that   
hung limply at Ambriel's shoulders. "If there really IS an 'Angel Moon'," she   
speculated innocently, "and if this little kid IS that person, would she be a   
Chibi-Scout?"  
"What's a Chibi-Scout, 'Leste?" asked Lyra in confusion.  
She glanced up at her older sister with sweet green eyes. "Daddy told me   
about it," she clarified. "In the world there are supposed to be six Galactic   
Sailors and three Chibi-Scouts." With a shrug, she rose. "The Chibi-Scouts aren't   
really Galactic Sailors, but they're not really Sailor Scouts, either..." Shaking   
her head, her eyes turned sad. "I really don't understand," she admitted. "I just   
listened to him talk about it."  
Everyone considered this for a moment before the little orange-and-white   
Guardian broke the silence.  
"So," Orb cut in, "who gets the kid? Do we take her to Serenity, give her to  
one of the Galactic Sailors..." He trailed off when he saw a sparkle of love in   
the Princess' cinnamon eyes.  
"I think that," she sighed wistfully, "that I could take good care of her.   
Mom and Dad always wanted another child, and..." Looking to Lisa, her eyes turned   
teary. "Lisa, do you think..."  
The handmaiden glanced around at the seven girls and then looked to little   
Ambriel, who was sitting at Reeny's feet, her gray eyes large with both confusion   
and wonder. "You HAVE to talk to the Queen," was all she could say before   
depositing the baby book on a table and stalking out of the room.  
************  
  
The Raider King and the Spirit of Silver sat on opposite sides of the large   
black chamber. Three of the seven star points--brown, green, and black--had both   
shattered and disappeared, a solemn sight for both the crimson eyes of the Raider   
and the all-seeing eyes of the spirit.  
"I am not pleased," the Spirit of Silver spat, hovering toward the center of  
the large star. "But I cannot say that I am displeased."  
Sneering, the King crossed his arms angrily. "And what exactly can I do   
about it?" he asked in moderate annoyance. "The Sailor Scouts are a tough group of  
warriors, and that little girl..." He shook his head.   
The Spirit's black slits, which marked its eyes, turned to its minion. "I   
sense an incredible amount of power coming from Chibi-Star," he commented, a bit   
of consideration in the ageless, vague voice. "Do we know her real identity?"  
A large scroll appeared in the King's hands and he, with a slight bow,   
cleared his throat. "Celeste Ann Mokoti," he read aloud. "The daughter of who we   
think is the Mistress of Venus. Six years of age, with a coming birthday in early   
May of this year. Quite possibly of some relation to Sailor Polaris or the Starlit  
Prince. Shows a great connection to both." The scroll fading, it was all he could   
do to run a hand through his crimson hair. "That's all the information we could   
find."  
"I'm rather impressed," smiled the Spirit. "And I am beginning to think that  
we've been taking this whole problem from the wrong angle..."  
************  
  
"What do you think?" asked Michelle, standing up on a tiny platform in the   
bridal shop. She was wearing a long, white satin wedding gown with a relatively   
open back and no straps.   
Wrinkling her nose, Haley leaned back in the powder-blue chair and sighed.   
"I want to go help Alex pick out a tuxedo," she whined, sticking her tongue out   
halfway.  
Smacking her sister upside the head, the black haired daughter grinned. "It   
looks gorgeous, Mom," she assured the musician. "I want one just like it!"  
"Reduce, reuse, recycle!" giggled the brunette, quickly finding herself on   
the receiving end of two angry glares. "I'm kidding, Mom," she sighed, teal eyes   
thoughtful and loving. "That looks almost as good on you as a tux looks on   
Alex..."  
Throwing a wad of paper at her daughter, Michelle turned to admire herself   
in the mirrors. "Stop it with the tuxedo talk!" she commanded, playing with her   
hair. "You know very well that she took both Terrence and Brian to help..."  
"Yeah," sighed Haley. "But then WE'RE stuck HERE with YOU and a bunch of   
dresses."  
Susan looked up from her book with a sigh. "You're such a tomboy," she   
observed, looking over to the younger of her two nieces.   
"I take after my mother...well, my OTHER mother..." joked the teen with a   
sad smile. "I'm sorry, guys," she admitted. "This is just really strange for me."  
All three women looked at the girl with soft smiles.  
Stepping down off the platform, the aqua-haired woman looked deep into her   
daughter's eyes. "Haley," she breathed, touching her shoulder lightly, "I know   
that this is strange. You come from a very...UNIQUE...family, and none of us will   
deny that fact." She smiled sadly. "But this is going to be the biggest day in   
three lives--yours, mine, and Alexandra's. It's not every day that your mothers   
actually do get married."  
Clearing her throat, Hannah chewed on her lower lip. "I know that this is   
supposed to be your day in the spotlight, Mom," the young woman said nervously.   
"But I'm about ready to burst and it's really important that I tell you this   
before going insane and..."  
"Spit it out," yawned Haley, bored.  
"Well..." An excited, almost maniac smile passed across her pale features,   
and violet eyes flared with excitement. "Me and Brian...well...we're getting   
married in April."  
A squeal echoed through the shop as Michelle pounced on her older daughter,   
kissing her on the cheek about eighty separate times. "I can't believe it!" she   
exclaimed, tears of joy running down her cheeks. "My little girl is growing up so   
fast!"  
"Mother..." protested Hannah. "I'm only nineteen years younger than you..."  
Haley shook her head. "To the real world," she observed, "you're   
twenty-one."  
A clerk walked over to the four. "Is everything alright here?" she asked   
apprehensively. "We heard screaming and..."  
Wiping tears from her cheeks, Michelle slowly stood and smoothed the dress.   
"Umm...yes..." she smiled, wringing her hands a bit. "I just got a bit too   
emotional, there..."  
"Weddings," pointed out the clerk, "can be very emotional for everyone   
involved." With another friendly grin, she folded her hands. "Found a dress you   
like, Ms. Kaioh?"  
"Suse?" inquired the musician nervously. "Girls?"  
"It's a keeper," smiled Hannah.  
Haley nodded, but muttered something about tuxedoes under her breath.  
The Guardian of Time once again glanced up from the book, shrugging a bit.   
"I hate to sound impartial," she commented, "but it really doesn't matter to me.   
You're basically my sister, and I must say that you'd look radiant if you wore a   
pair of sweatpants with one Alex's ratty old shirts left over from when you two   
were in high school." A sweet smile crossed her face. "Love and weddings do funny   
things to people, Michelle. And I'll be the first to admit it."  
Rolling her eyes, the teenager looked up at her mother. "In plain English,"   
she winked, "that translates roughly to: 'Gee, I like it.'"  
"It's a keeper, then," grinned Michelle, twirling around in it one last   
time. "I'll go change." As she walked into the dressing room, the clerk hovering   
nearby, desperately trying to make a sale, the violinist stopped in her tracks.   
"Haley?"  
"Hmm?"  
"Go find Alex and tell the guys that we're done here and need their help   
with the bridesmaids dresses."  
Haley's hoots of delight were heard throughout the mall as she ran out of   
the bridal shop.  
************  
  
Walking slowly down the hallway toward her parent's room, Reeny juggled   
Ambriel in her arms and let out a brief sigh. It was very odd and alien to her to   
be holding a child...to be wanted and needed...to just be the one sole provider of  
a life. "Well, little one," she breathed, looking at the girl in her arms. "Time   
to face the music." Staring straight into two gray eyes, the Princess of the Earth  
shook her head. "I just want you to know, Ambriel, though you sure as heck won't   
understand, that I really do care about you." A sad smile passed across her   
features, and it was all Reeny could to do fiddle with a pigtail to keep from   
crying. "Sometimes, I feel really lonely, but you..."  
"Mommy..." cooed the little girl, a tiny hand touching Reeny's face where a   
tear had fallen. "Mommy..."  
"No," corrected the teen. "Reeny. I'm not your Mommy..."  
Leaning onto the Princess' shoulder, Ambriel let out a cute little sigh.   
"Mommy Reeny?" she softly asked in a baby voice.  
Giving up, she threw open the doors to her parent's room and placed Ambriel   
cautiously on the floor. "Now, you behave," she commanded. "Leave all the talking   
to me."  
Serenity was at the desk and Endymion standing next to one of the many   
windows when Reeny and her little foundling entered the room. Smiling, the   
pink-haired teen cleared her throat, drawing two sets of blue eyes toward her.  
"Silver Millennium bloodlines are few and far between, right?" she inquired,  
not waiting for an answer. "And the legend of Angel Moon lives on, doesn't it? And  
your lonely daughter is in line for happiness, don't you think?"  
"Angel..." smiled Ambriel, attaching herself to one of the teen's long legs.  
"Angel..."  
Gasping, Serenity's azure eyes grew large. "Who is that child?" she asked   
suspiciously, dropping out of the chair and to her knees. "And why on Earth did   
you mention Angel Moon?"  
The child toddled over to the golden-haired Queen, fearless yet obviously   
innocent. Reeny cleared her throat again, growing more nervous with each passing  
moment. "I found her," she explained as her mother smoothed the frizzy red hair.   
"It was mostly accidental, really, and I took her in. Couldn't leave her out in   
the cold night air..." Seeing Endymion, who had also walked over to see the young   
girl, shudder, she continued. "And, well, I touched her forehead and felt this   
certain surge of Silver Millennium power, which I couldn't put my finger on."  
"Not Silver Millennium power," sighed Serenity, touching the Moon her   
forehead and then placing the same finger on Ambriel's head. "Moon Power."  
Reeny gasped as a silver crescent moon appeared on the forehead of the   
little girl.   
"Everything you've heard about Angel Moon," clarified Serenity, "is   
completely true, except for one detail. Angel Moon--Ambriel--was born on the Moon   
Kingdom of the Silver Millennium."  
Endymion nodded sympathetically, a soft smile on his masculine face as he   
smoothed his lavender suit. "She was, as legend tells, to reappear," he told his   
daughter, "when the most powerful Sailor Soldiers of all time began their fight   
for love and justice."  
"Us?" gulped Reeny, wringing her hands. "You mean Ambriel is here to help   
the Galactic Sailors?" Finding the pen in her pocket, she handed it to her mother.  
"And this..."  
"...Is her transformation wand," finished Serenity. "But she can't fight   
yet. I won't let her."  
The three looked at one another, and the Queen handed the wand back to her   
daughter. "We," she announced, "are going to raise this child to be a Princess."   
The other two stared at her in absolute doubt. "Just like my   
great-great-grandmother on the Moon raised the first Angel Moon, we will raise   
Ambriel." A half-smile crossed her face. "And Reeny... You are in charge of her   
from this moment on."  
Smiling, the Princess scooped up the little girl and hugged her, receiving   
another sweet coo of "Mommy".  
************  
  
Swinging her legs back and forth as she sat on the counter, Phoebe read over  
her schoolwork. "Drama class is really hard," she commented to the cat next to   
her. "This part I got stuck with is a nightmare come true."  
Orb looked up from his saucer of milk. "What role are you playing this   
week?"  
"The witch from 'Into the Woods'." She closed the book. "A part that is a   
real scary one. Long, involved, and not my type of character."  
"That's nice." He shrugged. "Why don't you give me a little taste of this   
'nightmare' character you are so intent on hating?"  
She raised an eyebrow at this comment, but dismissed it quickly and cleared   
her throat, placing the blue-covered script on the counter. "A-hem... 'Careful the  
things you say'," she sang, "'Children will listen. Careful the things you do,   
children will see... And learn...'"  
As her voice filled the little kitchen, the cat laid down on the counter and  
closed his eyes, humming along to the melody with appreciation. The two, in fact,   
got so involved in the miniature performance that neither noticed the three people  
walk into the room.  
"'Careful the wish you make... Wishes are children...'"   
"Phoebe?" asked a doubtful but slightly familiar voice.  
The teen opened her icy eyes to find herself staring at a silver-haired   
young woman with a slight smirk. "Marie?" she gulped, shaking her head as though   
to clear the sweet tune from her ears. "What on Earth..."  
With a chuckle, Greg leaned back against the wall with a knowing smile.   
"Well, it seems you two have previously been introduced, so..." Winking a brown   
eye at Orb, he smiled more widely. "Sis... Pheebs..."  
"I didn't know that your brother was my dad!" exclaimed the girl, jumping of  
the tan countertop.   
At the same instant, a delighted grin crossed the woman's face. "I would   
have thought that you'd opened the bag by now!" Marie retorted, pulling her young   
friend into a tight hug.   
Amy folded her hands in a considerate gesture. "Would either of you three   
like to explain this?" she asked, knitting two blue eyebrows together. "It seems   
that I've lost a bit of information."   
Letting go of her aunt and hopping back on the counter (resulting in a   
well-aimed glare from her young mother), Phoebe shrugged a bit. "I was lonely,"   
she admitted solemnly, gaze flying from her mother, to her father, and then to   
Marie. "The other girls had made a big deal about Christmas and how great their   
mothers' help was, and..." Sighing, she studied the floor tile with interest. "I   
stormed out of the house in a blind rage, and ended up at Marie's store."  
"I," added the woman, running a hand through her silver hair apprehensively,  
"happened to mention a certain Christmas when my brother finally proposed to his   
lovely girlfriend." The two other adults paled noticeably. "I, of course, avoided   
talk of immortality and all that jazz, but..."  
Pretending not to notice the cryptic sentence, Phoebe smiled. "She gave me a  
gift bag. I stowed it under the tree and didn't even think of opening it... After   
all," she sighed, "I thought it'd be my only Christmas gift this year..."  
Orb, who had left the room during the conversation, came back into the   
kitchen, dragging two gift bags in his teeth. Spitting them out, he shrugged a   
bit. "This one," he explained, gesturing to the bright orange one that Phoebe had   
not previously seen, "is from Tara. The other one," he nudged a red bag toward his  
charge, "is Marie's..."  
Bending down and scooping up the red bag and extracted a rather large item,   
well-wrapped in tissue paper.   
"It's hard for me to explain why," her aunt attempted in a wavering tone,   
"but, shortly after your birth, I got into an awful relationship and faded out of   
your--and everyone else's--lives." Hearing a gasp from her niece, Marie smiled   
sadly. "But, I had this in my store and...well... I just couldn't resist giving it  
to you."  
In Phoebe's trembling hands was a beautiful wooden music box, complete with   
a little rotating sun inside. Strains of "You Are My Sunshine" floated gently   
through the air as her eyes filled with tears. "It's so beautiful..."  
Smiling a bit more, Marie touched one of the teen's shaking hands. "I just   
want you to know that I'm really sorry, Phoebe," she sighed. "And that--from now   
on--I want to be there for you."  
Letting a salty tear trail down her cheek, Phoebe looked up from the box and  
to her aunt. "I'm lonely a lot often than you'd think," she responded lovingly.   
"And I'd really like that, Marie... AUNT Marie..."  
************  
  
Staring at Susan in extreme doubt, Terrence gulped nervously. "What did you   
just ask me?" he inquired.  
She smoothed the light yellow dress, admiring herself in a mirror and not   
daring to look at her boyfriend. "How much do you like children?" she repeated,   
resting a hand on the slowly growing bulge that was her abdomen.   
"Why?" he inquired suspiciously as she fooled with her hair. "Does it have   
something to do with--" he nearly choked on the word--"our baby?"  
Once again smoothing the dress, Susan nodded a little and looked at Alex,   
who was studying a lavender bridesmaid dress in disgust. Dressed in a rather   
conservative suit, the young "groom" had no intention of dwelling long in the   
shop, and the Time Guardian knew it. "Alex?" she called across the room to her   
friend.  
The blonde looked up from the outfit. "Hmm?" she replied in a purposely low   
voice.  
"Tell Michelle that I really like this one," Susan quickly responded before   
turning to the young brunette man. "What do you think, Terry?" she questioned   
sweetly.  
With a green-eyed wink, the man stepped up to her. "Lovely, Sets," Terrence   
assured her, pushing his golden-rimmed glasses back into place. "Now, can you   
PLEASE decipher your garble?"  
Smiling bravely and attempting to put a bit of bravado in her rich voice,   
Susan let out a shuddering breath. "Twins, Terry," she told him, not needing to   
say much more. "Two children."  
"Two?" His green eyes went wide as he gave her a careful hug. The false   
valor in her voice was obvious. "I don't know how you feel about it," he admitted,  
"but I can tell you're scared." Pulling her a bit closer, Terrence let his gaze   
fall into her crimson eyes. "I don't want you to worry, Sets," he whispered.   
"Because we'll be fine."  
She was about to respond when little Celeste Mokoti, clad in a rather frilly  
pink dress ran up, a grumbling Haley in tow. "Hi-ya, Miss Meiou," smiled the girl.  
"Like my flower girl dress?"  
Pulling away from Terrence, the dark-haired woman wiped any and all tears   
from her red eyes. "Lovely, Celeste," she smiled at the little blonde. Eyes flying  
to Haley, she suppressed a chuckle. "And what have we here?"  
Haley made a face and pulled on her own dress--a larger version of the   
blonde girl's outfit. "Not only," she spat, "am I going to be the oldest ring   
bearer in history, but I'll be a female ring bearer... in an ugly, frilly, pink   
mess!" Sticking her tongue out, the teenage girl managed one last grievous pout   
before slinking off to find her parents and complain to THEM about the situation   
at hand.  
"Miss Meiou?" asked Celeste sweetly as soon as the chuckles subsided. "Do   
you really think that I look okay?" She sighed deeply. "Cause I was thinking...   
Haley doesn't like pink, and well...purple goes much, much better with the light   
yellow bridesmaids' dresses..." Her green eyes looked up pleadingly, stars hidden   
within. "And Miss Kaioh and Miss Ten'ou said that all big decisions should be up   
to you cause YOU'RE the Maid of Honor and..."  
Placing a hand on the silken blonde hair, Susan shook her head, a smile   
crawling across her face. "You want a purple dress, don't you?"  
"Mmm-hmm," she nodded enthusiastically. "Very much so, Miss Meiou."  
With a shrug, the Guardian of Time swept back a few green hairs. "Hey,   
Alex?" she called.  
The woman looked up from her Sports Digest with a slightly bored glare in   
her eyes. "What now, Susan?" she asked, faking a man's voice warily.   
"We've decided to get the ring and flower girl's dresses in purple," she   
announced, receiving a tight hug from a certain blonde child.  
************  
  
Doubt looked up at her companion, a bit of hidden nervousness on his face.   
"You alright?" she inquired softly, flipping through the papers.  
As if to clear his mind, he shook his head quickly. "Is the plan all ready   
to go?"   
"Almost," she sighed, cracking her knuckles a bit apprehensively. "But I'm   
getting worried, Violence. These Scouts aren't as much of a blow-off as we think,   
BUT..." With a shrug, she folded her hands and smiled sweetly. "I think that the   
plan's going to work."  
"So," he smiled back, "we're good to go?"  
Shrugging once again, she winked a dark eye. "I'm ready."  
************  
  
"I'm ready."  
Terrence looked at Alex with a slight smirk. "Merry Christmas to you too,   
Miss Ten'ou," he replied, leaning back in the pew. "But I have an odd feeling   
that, when you two set the time as noon, Michelle and Sets decided that it meant   
to get ready at ten till..."   
Fiddling nervously with her black tie, the "groom" sighed and let out a long  
sigh. "Only an hour," she gulped, looking around the church. The whole room was   
decorated in yellow roses and lavender lilacs, with a white bow binding each   
bouquet of flowers. Hannah, Reeny, and Haley had spent pain-staking hours with the  
decorations, and--though she honestly found it gaudy and over-done--Alexandra had   
found herself extremely proud of the three girls. It wasn't everyday that her two   
daughters and the Princess of Earth teamed up to make her own wedding the best day  
in history.  
"You'll be fine, Miss Alex," smiled Brian, smoothing the lapels of his own   
tuxedo. "I'm sure that--within five minutes--Haley will burst in here with some   
sort of cute message from your lovely bride-to-be."  
The blonde woman grinned. "Thank you two so much," she beamed, looking at   
the young men with bright gray-green eyes. "I know that this must be the weirdest   
feeling--being groomsmen for a woman at her wedding to yet another woman--but..."   
She trailed off, gulping. "Just...thanks..."  
"Hey," Terrence offered, patting her shoulder kindly, "years from now, you   
and Michelle will look at the wedding pictures and say 'Why did we get those two   
hair-brained idiots to be your groomsmen, Al?'" Hearing a chuckle from the woman   
who had recently grown to be his friend, the man withdrew his hand and pushed a   
pair of gold-rimmed glasses back up his nose. "And then, we'll all just laugh-Me,   
you, your wife, Hannah, Brian, Sets, my kids, and Haley..."  
Both of his companion's eyes grew large. "Kids?" gasped Brian, running a   
hand through his hair.   
The young man ran a nervous hand through his brown hair. "Well, Sets was   
being pretty secretive about it, BUT..."  
Just then, Haley burst into the sanctuary, Celeste following sweetly behind   
her with an innocent smile. "Get her away from me!" roared the teen, showing no   
modesty even though she was dressed only in a long satin slip. "This child will   
not leave me alone!"  
"Well..." sniffled Celeste, the grin quickly replaced with a large frown.   
"My bigger sister isn't going to be here from at least a half an hour..."  
Stooping over, Terrence winked at the little girl. "I know that this is   
against policy," he whispered in a sly voice, "but how would you like to have a   
nice big can of Diet Coke?"  
"Ooh!" she screeched. Remembering the wink, she brought her little voice   
down to a whisper. "Really?" she inquired in a tiny voice. "Can I?"  
He nodded, taking her hand. "To the pop machines!" he commanded, winking at   
Haley this time. Mouthing 'you owe me big' to the brunette girl, he led his   
younger friend out the door, listening to her babble on about things that only   
little children would know.  
"Whew," breathed Haley, slumping into the spot that Terrence had once   
occupied. "That was close." Then, with a cutely mysterious smile, she looked up at  
the sandy-haired blonde, who had begun to pace. "Ma?"  
Alex whirled around, wringing her hands. "What?"  
"Mom says," her daughter informed, "that she knows you must be tearing   
apart the floor by now..." Teal eyes floated to the scuff marks in the carpeting,   
and Haley laughed at the sight, "but not to worry. She loves you and is so nervous  
she can hardly function." The teen made a face. "And, on a side note--that woman   
is FAR to preoccupied with how her hair looks!"  
"Tell your Mom," chortled Alex, a bit of the nervousness melting off her   
face, "that I love her too, and that this wedding will soon be OVER and we can go   
back to fighting like cats and dogs."  
Standing, Haley made a grievous face. "I sure HOPE not," she responded with   
a roll of her eyes before bustling out the doors and into the hall, singing   
Christmas tunes.  
Brian, who was sitting in the seat closest to the aisle but in the second   
pew, rested his chin in his hands. "It feels weird that this is Christmas," he   
sighed, a wistful smile on his face. "I wish that me and Hannah had thought of   
some romantic date to put our wedding on instead of just throwing it in the middle  
of April."  
This comment, as serious as it was meant to be, made Alexandra break out   
laughing. Clutching her stomach, she wiped a few tears from her eyes before   
looking over at the young man. "You don't know Hannah," she assured him with a   
quirky smile. "She really doesn't like making a big deal about anything, and..."  
It was then that Terrence waltzed back into the room, clearing his throat   
and interrupting Alex. "To pick up where I left off," he announced with a shrug,   
"Sets is pregnant with twins." He smiled proudly. "And I know, I know--she's   
beyond scared. But, I'm... Happy, I guess..." Seeing confused looks from his two   
friends. "I never thought that I'd have a chance for a family, but..." He smiled   
again, this time more thoughtfully. "Now I've got a girlfriend that I really   
love," he sighed with a shrug. "And two children on the way."  
"And," put in Brian with a sly smile, "you'll be standing in this church   
saying your OWN vows within three years."  
Snorting, Alex shook her head. "You don't know Suse very well, do you?" With  
a sigh, the blonde sat down on the edge of the pew, resting her elbows on her   
knees. "Well, here I go," she sighed, looking at the pulpit where Raye would soon   
stand. "Ready or not."  
************  
  
"Ready or not," came a deep voice, forcing Lyra to jump a mile into the air,  
"here I come."  
Tugging on the blue dress, the blonde girl smiled as she saw Richard walk   
into the room, something hidden behind his back. "I was sort of offended this   
morning, dear," he confided in her with a smirk. "Here I am, taking off my shoes   
while getting ready to come upstairs, when I find..."  
"When did you get here?" she suddenly asked, attempting to latch her   
sapphire necklace around her thin neck.   
Taking the necklace into his own hands, Richard clasped the thin silver   
chain himself. "About an hour ago," he sighed, "but I was curtailed by your   
mother, and then Becky shoved all sorts of cookies down my throat." He smiled   
gently and looked at her face through the mirror. "My God, you look radiant today.  
What's the occasion?"  
She blushed noticeably and glanced at the ground. "It IS Christmas," she   
shrugged, chewing on her lower lip.   
"Speaking of Christmas," he prompted, holding out the familiarly red gift   
bag, "THIS was sitting on the shoe rack, discarded and ignored." Offering it   
forth, he winked a blue eye. "I did add something, though--something I was saving   
to give you at the reception but couldn't resist giving you with the present."  
Lyra reached into the bag and pulled out a perfect rose of the richest red   
in the universe. If it had been any darker, she mused, it would have been blood.   
"Richard..." she breathed, words catching in her throat. She placed the rose in a   
vase, which held her purple gift from the ball. Miraculously, the first rose   
hadn't wilted or even lost its sweet sent in the two weeks that had passed since   
the ball.   
Lightly touching her shoulder with a hand, he nudged her a bit. "Don't stop   
yet," he smirked. "You've got to open the rest."  
"More?" She made a face and whirled around to face him. "Oh, Richard, this   
is too much. I mean..." She bit her lip. "This had been a sort   
of...sad...Christmas in our family," she sighed guiltily. "My father's out of a   
job, and my little sister... Well, I found out some interesting things about   
Celeste that plague me constantly. Not to mention that whole Mall incident..."  
"Shhh..." he whispered, staring into her teary brown eyes. "Don't you even   
think about crying, because-if you do-I'll have to hug you." She laughed a bit,   
but it was nervous and forced. "And, if I hug you," he continued, eyes searching   
her soul, "I just might not let go."  
With a sigh, she pushed her hand through what seemed to be inches of tissue   
paper and felt something soft and plush in her hand. Pulling it out, an amused yet  
bewildered grin crossed her face. "A Sailor Polaris doll?" she asked, raising an   
eyebrow.  
It was about ten inches tall and made all out of a soft, "stuffed-animal"   
type of fabric. The doll was, in fact, a very cuddly replica of the Scout, and   
seeing the look on Lyra's face, Richard smiled at her. "After the attack," he told  
her, "I went back to the Mall. Something was pulling me there, and so I decided to  
go into the toy store." He gestured to the doll, flushing a bit. "This was the   
first thing I saw in the shop and something... Something had drawn me to it. I   
couldn't even think about resisting the urge." Running a hand through dark red   
hair, he shrugged noticeably. "I don't know why..."  
Throwing her arms around his neck, Lyra quickly buried her head in his white  
dress shirt. "Richard..." she choked, near tears. "This is the absolutely SWEETEST  
thing..." She glanced up, eyes filled with unshed tears. "There's something about   
you..." she smiled. "Your eyes are just so blue."  
Leaning toward her, Richard proceeded toward her lips, intent on a kiss...  
When a light rap sounded on the door. "A-hem," coughed Andrew loudly. The   
two pulled apart and jumped to opposite sides of the small room that Lyra and her   
sister Becky shared. "I hate to bother you two, but we have a wedding to attend."   
The blonde shot a devious grin at his daughter. "Unless, of course, you two would   
rather stay here..."  
"Daddy!" shrieked Lyra, pulling her ponytail into a clear butterfly clip   
before grabbing her purse. "That is well enough!"  
Richard choked after hearing the words, shutting his cobalt eyes as he felt   
himself blush deeply. Feeling a small hand wrap around his own hand, he opened his  
eyes once again.  
Lyra grinned up at him. "Time to go," she smiled, dragging both him and her   
father out of the bedroom before tightly shutting the door behind them.   
Lacing their fingers together, he winked. "Not a moment too soon."  
************  
  
"Not a moment too soon," breathed Michelle as Serenity placed the last   
yellow rose in the elaborate hairstyle. Every last strand of long, aqua hair was   
curled and piled expertly atop her head as it seemed only the Queen of Earth could  
do. "I thought I wouldn't be able to sit still.  
Beaming, the golden-haired woman flipped a pigtail behind her shoulder,   
admiring the four flowers that adorned the bride's hair. "Just be careful not to   
mess it up," she warned with a sly grin. "I wouldn't want to see your roses drop   
onto the ground as you walked down the aisle."  
The bride, her two bridesmaids, and the ring-bearer-girl Haley all chuckled   
at this, and Celeste looked adoringly up at the adults. "I don't get it," she   
asked, furrowing her tiny eyebrows. This set the five women into more hysterics.  
It was then that the door opened and Reeny, clad in her Princess gown and a   
silver tiara, dragged a screaming Ambriel into the dressing room. The little   
redheaded grin was wearing a gown similar to that of the teen, but she looked much  
more distraught about the situation.  
"Mom..." whined the Princess with a sigh. "Ambriel will not stop crying!"  
As if to prove a point, the little one threw herself on the ground and began  
to have a massive temper-tantrum on the floor.   
Pushing a stray hair behind her ear, Serenity shook her head. "I'm sorry,   
Reeny," she told her daughter a bit guiltily. "Part of this deal was that you   
would take proper care of the child, and..."  
"I have to miss the wedding?" Reeny inquired in shock, looking in disbelief   
at her mother. "That's not fair!"  
"Yeah," chimed in Haley with a hopeful smile. "We Scouts have to stick   
together."  
The crying coming from the toddler got even louder, and the pink-haired teen  
scooped her up and rolled a pair of red eyes. "I swear, if I let her live through   
this..." she muttered, stalking out of the room with an upset look across her   
face.   
As the Princess left, Chad entered the room clad in his traditional temple   
robes. "Hello, ladies," he said in his deep voice, a slight smile on his face. "We  
need to get everyone lined up, so..." He flushed at Serenity. "Umm... Well,   
M'Queen..."  
The woman smiled and patted his cheek. "I'm on my way, Chad," she assured   
him, winking to Michelle. "Good luck, all," she wished them before running out.  
Taking a deep breath, Susan smoothed her dress. "It's showtime," she   
muttered, glancing nervously into the hallway before finding Celeste's hand and   
squeezing it.  
************  
  
"It's showtime!" announced Phoebe happily, plopping down between Alice and   
Tara in the second pew. "Are we all excited to be here?"  
The temple maiden closed her bright green eyes. "My mother hates performing   
non-Shinto ceremonies," she informed the four present Scouts and Richard. "She's   
been complaining all day." Pausing, her eyes flew open and she stiffened. "I sense  
danger," she whispered almost inaudibly.  
"Not AGAIN," whined Alice, running a hand through her auburn hair. "Come on,  
Tara--couldn't you wait until the reception to get carried away in all that   
religious mumbo-jumbo?"  
Restraining herself, the teen laid back in the seat and sighed deeply,   
shutting her eyes and trying to get a reading on the evil she felt.  
Music began to play and virtually everyone in the church turned around as   
the doors opened and the wedding party began marching down the lilac-and-rose line  
aisle.  
First, of course, was Celeste--the flower girl. Her dress was, as promised   
by Susan, purple and extremely frilly. Throwing rose petals and silvery confetti   
everywhere as she walked down the aisle, she grinned happily at the four other   
Scouts before taking her place across the way from where Alex and Terrence stood.  
Next was Haley, who walked much more briskly on her way, a forced grin on   
her face. She looked ridiculous--the purple dress was a bit too short and the   
frills didn't seem to go along well with her short-cropped brown hair.  
Then came Hannah and Brian, arm-in-arm, twin adoring smiles on their faces   
as they went. They seemed almost reluctant to part as they reached the front, and   
Hannah kept glancing kindly at her blonde mother, a proud smile that made everyone  
in attendance feel warm.  
The last of the wedding party was Susan, who looked--by far--the most   
amazing of all the attendants. Green hair done in its familiar fashion, she had   
permitted Serenity to place a ring of three interlocking yellow roses around the   
single bun, and she had obliged. Something on the Time Guardian's face was alight   
with wonder and caring, and her yellow dress, though a bit snug for reasons left   
unspoken, made her look very regal and timeless.   
As she stepped to her spot next to her elder niece, the well-known strains   
of the wedding march started playing--but not from the organ. As the guests all   
stood, their eyes wandered two four teenagers, all dressed in either a tuxedo or   
in a tuxedo skirt, sat in the back of the large church. Alex almost choked as she   
recognized them.  
Kevin, Katie, Johanna, and Irina--all members of the Crystal Music Academy's  
symphonic orchestra--were playing the wedding march for their two teachers.   
And then... Michelle entered.  
Holding tightly to King Endymion's arm, the bride looked about ready to   
burst with happiness. The gown--most of which was either a fine lace or expensive   
silk--was rather high-necked in the front, but low and open in the back. Long and   
complete with a full train, it fit Michelle like a glove. There was no veil over   
her face, but roses did protrude out of her curled hair. A bouquet of perfect   
yellow roses combined with lavender lilacs completed the ensemble.   
A tear ran down her face as the paragon of beauty-the woman who would soon   
be her wife-came and stood beside the tall blonde. Michelle took one of her hands   
from the flowers and touched one of Alex's trembling hands lightly. Then, Raye   
cleared her throat and smoothed the red-and-cream temple robes she wore. "Who   
gives this woman away?" she asked a bit harshly. Hearing her own tone, she shot   
everyone an apologetic smile.  
Trying not to chuckle, the King of the Earth glanced at the wrinkles that   
Michelle had put in the sleeve of his lavender suit. "I do," he announced with a   
smile.  
"You may be seated," Raye told the group and, as they sat, she cleared her   
throat and looked at the beaming couple. How long ago had she first met them? It   
didn't seem to be all that long, but most of the crowd knew the truth. With a   
grin, she opened the book before her.  
"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today..."  
************  
  
A shadowed figure stood next to the Princess' bed as she slept with a small   
smile on her face. At the foot of the four-poster bed was a crib and the visitor   
knew that, in the crib, was one very troublesome two-year-old.  
"Princess Serenity," he breathed, kneeling beside the bed and allowing his   
face into the light. "I'm so sorry that you once again spent such a long Christmas  
without me." A sad smile crossed has pale pink skin. "I promised you that I would   
return, my love, and I soon will. But..." he sighed deeply. "Such chances aren't   
very prevalent of late, Princess. But, I swear..." He touched one of her cheeks   
lightly. "I will return. Before Ambriel, the angel of the Moon, is six years of   
age, I will come back to you."  
Standing slowly, he allowed a white rose to materialize on her pillow and   
shook his head. "I know you must have many roses," he smirked, running a hand   
through his silvery tresses. "But, pay no mind." Leaning forward, he kissed her   
cheek lightly. "You are very much like your mother, my love," he chuckled, fading   
a bit. "For it is only noon."  
Reeny stretched and stirred in her sleep, a larger smile replacing the   
previous, more mysterious one. "Helios..." she whispered, hand falling on the   
rose.  
She awoke with a start once she was pricked, placing her palm to her lips as  
a bit of blood seeped from her new cut. Looking at the rose, its petals almost   
having a silver sheen in the darkened room, she gulped back tears.  
"Helios?"  
************  
  
"Do you, Michelle Kaioh, take this woman to have and to hold, to love,   
honor, and obey until eternity ends?" asked Raye, her violet eyes almost filling   
with tears at the sweet sight before her.   
The bride nodded. "I do..."  
"And, do you," continued the priestess, "Alexandra Ten'ou, take this woman   
to have and to hold, to love, honor and obey until eternity ends?"   
Wiping her own tears away, the blonde grinned. "That, I do..."  
Raye cleared her throat, voice a bit shaky as she looked at the couple. Both  
were beaming, their twin gold bands sparkling as the sun filtered through the   
stained glass. "I now pronounce you married," she smiled as the two stepped closer  
to one another. "You may now kiss to seal this bond."  
And Michelle threw her arms around Alex's neck and they kissed passionately,  
everyone cheering as they watched.  
"May I present," announced Raye, arms wide, "Mrs. and...well... Mrs.   
Alexandra Ten'ou!"   
The quartet began their happy tune as Alex swept Michelle into her arms and   
carried her down the aisle, leaving not a dry eye in the church as she did so. No   
one had expected it, and everyone had seen it--the marriage of Alexandra and   
Michelle.  
And it was all ruined with a scream.  
"HELP!" Celeste's voice carried quickly through the sanctuary as Raider   
Doubt struggled to gag the child.  
"Celeste!" screamed Lyra, jumping to her feet and groping into her purse for  
the Locket of Polaris. "I'll save you!"  
Suddenly, a black portal opened up and Doubt dragging the kicking and   
screaming child through it, all guests staring and leaving four Sailor Scouts in   
various stages transformation.  
And Lyra dropped to her knees in grief and sorrow as all Hell broke loose.  
************  
  
Galactic Sailors Say!  
  
Reeny: (appearing) Babies are a whole lot of work.  
  
(Video clip of Ambriel's temper-tantrum)  
  
Reeny: I mean, they spit up, and cry, and throw fits...  
  
Terrence: (appearing) ...and they turn into teenagers like Reeny. (grins) Thank   
you, thank you... I'll be here all week.  
  
Reeny: (grimaces) But babies are also wonderful. They're loving and caring and...  
  
(Video clip of Ambriel hugging Reeny)  
  
Terrence: But you can't just magically think that babies can take care of   
themselves. That's why you should read "Terrence Chiba's Guide To Good Parenting".  
  
Reeny: (making face) There's no such book!  
  
Terrence: (put off) Is too!   
  
Reeny: You're not even a parent yet, Terrence!  
  
Terrence: (smug) You're just biased.  
  
Susan: (appearing) (over the argument) The point here, I think, is that you've got  
to be careful around babies because they need a lot more help in life than the   
rest of us.  
  
Reeny: Duh!  
  
Haley: (appearing) Plus, if you're not careful, they'll end up like...  
  
(Picture of Kevin, Katie, Johanna, and Irina from the orchestra)  
  
Reeny: (shrugs) Well, Sailor Moon says...  
  
ALL: See ya!  
  
-I Know-  
Look around...  
(Tara, sitting next to Queen Serenity, stares up at the night sky)  
So many things aren't clear...  
(Phoebe looks blankly at a math book)  
Don't worry, though...  
(Lyra smiles while picking up her tuba)  
You know that I'll be there...  
(Sailor Pluto and Haley smile knowingly at each other)  
A lot of things are so uncertain...  
(Alice looks sadly at a clock while the sun sets over Crystal Tokyo)  
The future's on its way...  
(Reeny holds the Locket of the Moon, smiling)  
Look at my crying eyes...  
(Luna and Artemis console an upset Diana)  
Don't take your love away!  
(Hannah sighs, looking at a sleeping Haley)  
  
Sometimes, the road looks long...  
(Mina looks at her children with Andrew behind her)  
And sometimes, the world seems wrong...  
(Alex and Michelle smile at one another and then blush deeply)  
But I know, I know, all you need is love.  
(The six girls, untransformed, hold their lockets high)  
  
Sometimes, you feel weak...  
(Lita smoothes the hair of a crying Alice)  
And sometimes, the future looks bleak...  
(Raye and Chad stand behind Tara, who is staring at her locket)  
But I know, I know, all you need is love.  
(The six Galactic Sailors stand in a half circle)  
  
Times will change...  
(Amy looks out of a window and at Crystal Palace)  
People will change, too...  
(Endymion looks at Serenity, who is pouring over a book)  
But deep inside...  
(Lyra hugs Celeste)  
I always will love you...  
(Diana falls asleep on Reeny's lap)  
I suppose there are questions now...  
(Alice and Phoebe stare blankly at one another)  
The answers are so far...  
(Michelle stands in front of the orchestra, talking)  
But look at me and smile now...  
(Tara lovingly hugs her father)  
I am your guiding star!  
(Haley smiles at a studying Hannah)  
  
Sometimes, the road looks long...  
(Mina looks at her children with Andrew behind her)  
And sometimes, the world seems wrong...  
(Alex and Michelle smile at one another and then blush deeply)  
But I know, I know, all you need is love.  
(The six girls, untransformed, hold their lockets high)  
  
Sometimes, you feel weak...  
(Lita smoothes the hair of a crying Alice)  
And sometimes, the future looks bleak...  
(Raye and Chad stand behind Tara, who is staring at her locket)  
But I know, I know, all you need is love.  
(The six Galactic Sailors stand in a half circle)  
  
I know...  
(The Planet Mistresses stand in a circle)  
I know...  
(The Galactic Sailors stand in a circle)  
All you need is love...  
(The Mistresses and Sailors all stand together, holding hands, with their eyes   
closed)  
All you need...is...love...  
(A single purple rose sits in a vase)  
************  
  
Yes, it is an interesting place to leave off.  
Thanks to my mother who helped explain a lot of the wedding stuff to me... I   
didn't quite understand what went where because I haven't seen a wedding since I   
was...ohh...seven.  
Till next time... We'll be sitting right here...  
  
Kate and Christina  



	9. Chibi-Star's Destiny

Chibi-Star's Destiny  
  
Author's Ramblings: So, what happened to little Celeste? Are you as   
curious as we are? ::chuckle:: That's right! I had forgotten! WE know   
and YOU don't!  
Kate's retraction: In story 7, it was stated that the Concertmistress,  
Irina, was Hispanic. Upon a logic check (and actually discovering that  
I can't figure out nationalities any better than I can pass my ICA   
Honors final), I would like to say the following thing.  
-Irina is not Hispanic after all. Gomen nasi, Irina-sama.-  
Whew. Okay then. Here we go!  
************  
The instant re-play!  
  
Reeny found a two-year-old (Ambriel), the incarnation of a   
heroine named Angel Moon. Phoebe met her long-lost aunt, Marie, and   
her parents visited. Susan is going to have twins, and Alex and   
Michelle are (::a-hem:: FINALLY) married. Celeste was kidnapped at the  
very end by Raider Doubt.  
  
And that, my friends, is where the story beings...  
************  
  
"Let go of me, you evil witch!" the little blonde girl yelped,   
kicking and squirming as she was dragged down the long hallway by the   
gray-garbbed Raider. "I'm going to whip your butt, you lousy..."  
Wrinkling her nose, Doubt readjusted her lessening grip on the   
girl before proceeding on her way. "You listen to me, Chibi-Star," she  
shot angrily. "You will do what we say and you will not fight it. If   
you don't..." Her voice was little more than a hiss as her lips neared  
the child's right ear. "Then you will find the results not of your   
liking."  
The child's eyes went wide with fear, and tears began to   
glisten. Where was Lyra? Where was Richard? And where were Reeny, Tara  
and all the others?  
Without warning, Celeste began to cry, allowing her body to go   
limp in the confining arms that held her.  
Nervously, Doubt licked her wine-colored lips. "Umm...There,   
there," she softly told the girl, her voice still cruel and   
unforgiving. "Don't cry, now."  
"How could I not cry?" asked the girl, tears still streaming   
down her cheeks as she looked down what seemed to be miles of dark   
passageways. Every hundred feet or so, a small lamp would appear to   
guide the way, but-other than those strange and glowing lights-it was   
dark and terrifying. Perhaps that was how it should have been, but   
Celeste... She didn't think so. "My friends have left!" she exclaimed   
in a wavering tone. "And I'm afraid of the dark!"  
With a slight smile, Doubt waved her hands and a glowing ball   
appeared above them, shedding large amounts of light over the hallway.  
She ruffled the child's hair, realizing that the girl was almost   
walking voluntarily, having given up her attempts for escape.   
"Better?"  
Celeste nodded and wiped tears from her eyes. "I suppose," she   
managed, looking up at the Raider's dark eyes. They had turned   
miraculously thoughtful for some odd reason, and she liked that; Doubt  
could have an almost motherly face if she cared enough to smile.   
"Th...Thank you, Raider Doubt," she stuttered.  
Having never heard those words before, the woman jumped a bit   
and felt her heart race in her chest. What a sweet little girl... She   
smoothed her gray dress and smiled broadly.  
"Well, Chibi-Star... You're welcome."  
************  
  
There was a dark, dark pit, and Celeste was falling into it.  
She reached out a hand, her fingers just brushing that of the   
girl. It couldn't be too late... It just couldn't...  
"LYRA!" screamed Celeste as the swirling darkness enveloped her.  
"NOOOOOOOOOO!!!"  
Bolting straight up in bed, Lyra felt that her breath was ragged  
and that sweat was dripping down her forehead. Kneeling at the side of  
the bed was her younger sister, Becky--a sweet little brunette who   
shared the room with the teen. "Lyra?" asked the ten-year-old, a   
frighten expression on her face. "Are you okay?"  
With a deep breath, she nodded a tiny bit, running a shaky hand   
through her damp curls. "I just had a really awful dream," she managed,  
shuddering a tiny bit. "That's all."  
"You've been tossing and turning for hours," Becky informed her,  
standing slowly. "What's wrong?"  
Upon arrival back at the house, grief-stricken Andrew and Mina   
had to inform the children--all six that had stayed home--of Celeste's  
kidnapping. Lyra, of course, was the only one to know the truth. That   
Celeste Ann Mokoti was really Sailor Chibi-Star. That the real reason   
she was abducted was the fact that she was a Sailor Scout.   
But Lyra also knew that, if the rest of the Galactic Sailors had  
been properly prepared, it never would have happened.  
And that was why the blonde shook her head before leaning back   
in her pillows. "Becky," she sighed, nearly crying with tears that had  
been held back since the wedding, "I could have stopped it. I could   
have saved her. And..."  
"Never say that!" shot the younger girl, her brown eyes wild   
with both grief and adoration for her elder sister. "You always say   
that you shouldn't life on 'could have' and 'should have'!"  
"But it's true!" yelled Lyra, rising slowly and brushing off her  
pajamas. Staring straight into the other child's eyes, she choked on   
her own words for a brief moment before speaking. "Don't ever listen   
to me! If I had been more careful, Celeste would still be here tonight,  
sleeping in the next room!"  
The words stung Becky and she turned quickly away. "You couldn't  
have saved her," she breathed softly, voice almost inaudible. "None of  
us could have."  
Pulling her coat out of the bedroom closet, the teen cleared her  
throat. "What you don't know, I do," she shot, placing her locket in   
the parka's pocket. "And I know that I could have saved my sister."  
And with that, Lyra slipped on her jacket and stalked out of the  
room, leaving only the slamming of the front door to break the silence.  
************  
  
The creaking of a door was heard, and Alex sat bolt upright. Her  
tank top did nothing for the cool air that filtered through the   
doorway, and the blonde rubbed her tired eyes as the bright hall light  
shined into her green eyes.  
"Suse?" she asked in a slight bit of shock. "Are you alright?"  
Stepping inside the room, the green-haired woman revealed that   
she was wearing her long black pea coat and a pair of jeans instead of  
pajama pants.   
If her senses had previously been dulled, they were fully awake   
as Alex leapt out of bed and grabbed her tuxedo jacket--which had been  
thrown upon the desk chair without concern. "Hospital?" asked the   
blonde, groping in the jewelry box for her car keys. "Let me just wake  
Michelle and..."  
"No," interrupted the Guardian of Time with a long sigh. A   
slight smile crossed her face. Despite her sarcastic comments and   
tomboyish ways, the heart beneath her icy exterior was very pure and   
loving. "It's nothing like that..."  
"What?" came the very dry comment from the younger woman,   
placing her hands on her hips. "Listen, I've lost a lot of sleep in   
the last few days, and tonight was..." She coughed nervously into a   
fist. "No exception."  
This was undoubtedly true. The wedding had stressed everyone's   
emotions and patience until it was threadbare and then Celeste had   
been kidnapped, stealing the newlywed couple from their trip to Cancun  
and forcing them to stay in Japan for an emergency Meeting of   
Mistresses, scheduled the next morning. No one had been happy about   
that, and guilt washed over the pregnant woman as she folded her hands  
on her bulging belly. "Umm..." she sighed with a shake of her head, "I  
just had a craving for candied yams and Perrier water..."  
Laughing, actually LAUGHING at the woman, Alex slipped off her   
jacket and tossed the keys to her friend. "It's my wedding night," she  
shot, shaking her head slowly, still chuckling. "And, believe it or   
not, I want to sleep." She stretched and winked. "Get your own yams."  
"Amy," argued Susan, "said that I shouldn't be driving."  
"I," retorted the blonde with a wicked gleam in her eye, "have   
driven wearing a full ball gown. You can drive in your state..."  
Garnet eyes and green eyes latched onto one another in the   
slight darkness, neither giving into the whims of the other. Any other  
Planet Mistress in the near vicinity would have felt the energy   
building up, and Michelle thusly did.  
Rolling over and yawning, the teal-haired woman let out a sigh.   
"Alex, get Susan her yams," she commanded sternly in a sleepy tone.  
"But..."  
"You don't want to spend your wedding night on the couch, do   
you?" she asked rhetorically, pulling the comforter up to her chin.   
"Get..."  
Shaking her head, the sandy-haired woman slipped the jacket back  
on and retrieved the keys from where they had fallen to the hardwood   
floor. Growling at her friend, she tossed her head indignantly before   
trudging out the door.  
"Thanks," whispered the Guardian of Time.  
The musician smiled in her sleep.  
************  
  
He sat straight up, the buzzing of the apartment's doorbell   
ringing in his ears. Groggily, he swung his legs so that he was   
sitting on the edge of the bed. Shivering a bit, he rubbed his blurry   
blue eyes and slipped on a pair of purple house slippers. Stretching,   
he adjusted his too-long plaid pajama pants and considered grabbing   
his robe.  
But the frantic ringing turned into an urgent pounding and he   
gave up, trudging warily through the darkened hall and into the main   
room. Nearly tripping over the coffee table, he pulled open the door.  
Realizing then that he didn't have his glasses, he squinted at   
the unexpected visitor, trying to look menacing and angered, but   
failing miserably.  
All he saw was a mass of puffy hair and a short, lithe body   
attached to it. "Mom?" he questioned, confusion in his voice as his   
eyes attempted to focus on the stranger. "I thought you were out of   
town on business, and..."  
"Richard?" came a soft and familiar voice, a bit shaky and   
uncertain. "Can I come in for a minute?"  
His heart leapt into his throat as he ran a hand through his   
messy dark red hair. "Um... Hi Lyra," he managed sheepishly, a slight   
blush crossing his face. "Why don't you do that? Come...come in, I   
mean," he stammered, holding open the door.  
She nodded at that, and entered the apartment timidly. Running   
quickly into the bathroom, Richard grabbed his glasses and reappeared   
before her. Now he could clearly see, even in the darkened living   
room, that she had been crying.  
Tears stained her cheeks, and a scowl replaced what would   
usually have been a happy-go-lucky grin. Her blonde ponytail was   
disheveled, and her hands were thrust into the pockets of her huge,   
fleecy yellow parka.  
He gulped and bit his lower lip. "You alright, Star?" he asked   
softly, looking to the ground in embarrassment. "You look upset."  
Nodding a bit, she sat down on the edge of the tan couch. "I..."  
She paused, bloodshot brown eyes staring up at him. "It's all my   
fault, Richard!" Lyra announced, her voice wavering as tears flowed   
freely down her already stained cheeks. "I wasn't strong enough, or   
fast enough, and now..."  
The air seemed heavy as the teen sobbed into her hands, and   
Richard sat down next to her and rubbed her back sympathetically.   
"It's not your fault," he cooed sweetly, drawing her close to his   
chest. "Whatever this evil is," he assured her, "it will stop at   
nothing to overcome you and the other Sailor Scouts. It's not your   
fault... The same think could have happened in the middle of a battle,  
or when you were at school, or while Celeste was walking down the   
street." Cradling her in his arms, he let out a sigh. "You can't blame  
yourself."  
Looking down at her, Richard smoothed her ponytail and then   
gasped in the realization that he was not wearing a shirt. Blue eyes   
trailed to her arms, which were wrapped partially around his waist as   
she cried, her head leaning against his bare chest. Squirming just a   
bit and feeling himself redden due to the predicament, he patted her   
head. "Feeling better?" he asked, looking for an escape route so that   
he could find appropriate attire before rejoining her on the couch.   
"Not really," she sniffled, tightening her death grip on the   
young man. Her sobs were slowly lessening, and he waited with bated   
breath for her to stop. After all, if Mrs. Mokoti knew that he was   
half-naked AND sharing a tight embrace with her daughter... He   
shuddered and tried once again to subtly weasel out of her arms to go   
find his shirt.  
Murmuring, she tightened her grip and Richard groaned inwardly.  
She'd fallen asleep.  
Sighing, he patted her head lovingly and planted a butterfly   
kiss on her ponytail. Yawning, he glanced at the clock. Three a.m.   
Perfect.  
"Well," came the witty remark as he pulled off his glasses, "if   
you can't beat them, join them."  
And closing his eyes, Richard wrapped his arms around Lyra and   
let sleep once again claim him.  
************  
  
"Happy?" Alex sipped her coffee for a long moment, watching the   
green-haired Guardian of Time dive into her third can of candied yams.   
Looking up, she thrust a forkful of vegetable toward the blonde.  
"Very!" she announced, waving the fork tantalizingly in front of her   
friend. "Want some?"  
The coffee-drinker shook her head and glared at the yams. "I   
want," she retorted sleepily, "to shove that fork up your..."  
"Up a little early today, aren't we?" inquired Haley, skipping   
merrily into the kitchen from the dining room. "What brings you to my   
world of insomnia?"  
"You're still UP?" gasped Alexandra, her maternal instincts   
taking over. "You get your butt into bed. It may be Christmas vacation,  
but..."  
Clicking her tongue against her teeth, the brunette teen plopped  
down in a chair next to Susan at the table. "Cool your jets," she   
grinned calmly, seeing the concerned and motherly spark in the   
blonde's eyes. "I had to check my email! It was IMPORTANT!" Seeing the  
doubtful looks from the two adults, she smiled sheepishly. "Hey, come   
on! It's only..." She glanced at the microwave's clock. "Three a.m."  
"You say it so casually," mumbled Alex, standing and pouring a   
second cup of coffee. "Want some?"  
The girl took the mug and a large smile crossed her face as she   
blew on the coffee. "So, what's the Planet Mistress policy on   
kidnapped Scouts?"  
Soft footfalls sounded as Hannah and Michelle entered the   
kitchen, stern expressions on their faces. "Out, Haley."  
"Mom..." whined the teen, pouting noticeably. Seeing an angry--  
and slightly mournful--spark in her aquatic mother's eyes, she blushed  
a bit and took the mug into her hands carefully. "You know what?" she   
frantically managed. "I think it's a really good time to go over what   
Music Theory class I have next semester..."  
"Harmonics AP," replied Michelle, taking up the newly vacated   
seat. "But it's a good idea to go study anyway."  
As the teen bustled out of the room, Susan took a long swig of   
her Perrier water and yawned a bit. "Well, I think we should turn   
in..."  
"No way," interrupted the ebony-headed woman from her spot next   
to the coffeepot. "You've been acting very odd lately, Susan, and you   
know something that we don't."  
The Guardian of Time paled and massaged the bridge of her nose   
slowly, her garnet eyes fluttering shut. "I'd rather not talk about   
it," she breathed, voice almost inaudible as she sighed deeply.   
Looking at one another, the rest of the Outer Planet Mistresses   
sensed the deep distress that raged within their friend and they knew   
what was wrong instantly. The room's silence became heavy, and   
Michelle broke it hesitantly, letting a quiet question escape pursed   
lips.  
"The pregnancy prevents you from going to the Time Gate?"   
A tear trickled down Susan's face, and they all knew the truth   
immediately thereafter. "I didn't think it would," she admitted softly,  
hands clutching the half-filled can of yams almost reflexively. "But I  
tried to transport there tonight, and it failed..."  
With a sigh, Alexandra brushed her sandy bangs from her eyes and  
stirred her coffee slowly. Her upper lip was held tightly between her   
teeth as she sat, and her brow was furrowed in both fear and thought.   
"I think," she finally said after a long pause, "that we have to tell   
Serenity and the rest at the meeting tomorrow."  
"We're not even supposed to GO tomorrow!" shot Hannah, crossing   
her arms indignantly over her chest. "We're not involved in the   
kidnapping!"  
"Yes, we are," corrected Michelle, staring at her cup of tea,   
watching the liquid swirl in slow circles. "The sea is stormy, and I   
fear what the Raiders will do to the child."  
Another heavy silence filled the room, and the four then once   
again took up conversation, this time in a more hushed tone.  
Rising from her seat on the steps to her bedroom, Haley let out   
a long sigh. She'd heard right, which could mean only one thing. With   
shaky legs, she went her room in silence, contemplating what she had   
just learned.  
************   
  
"Where would she have gone?"  
"Do you think I know, dear? Maybe it's better that she's not   
here..."  
"I'll pretend I didn't hear that comment, Andrew."  
The two blondes sat at the kitchen table, a half-asleep Becky   
sitting between them, an apprehensive look upon her pale, tired face.   
She'd awoken the couple shortly after her sister had left, but it had   
been too late--Lyra Star Mokoti had vanished into the Tokyo night   
without so much as a trace.  
Smiling sheepishly, the brunette girl pulled her knees to her   
chest. "I'm sorry, Mama," she softly told the woman with a slight sigh.   
"I didn't mean to make her mad, Poppa."  
"We know," replied Mina in a very understanding tone, twirling a  
piece of her blonde hair between two fingers. "I've just never been so  
worried in my life."  
Andrew nodded and sipped the water in his glass slowly. "First   
Celeste, now Lyra..." he commented, in a slight daze from the   
disappearance of two of his eight children. "And I don't believe for a  
moment that Lyra would blame herself for this..."  
The girl got up and stretched, scratching her lower back   
sleepily. "I'm gonna go back to bed," she told her parents, making a   
beeline for the staircase.   
"Good idea," her mother called after her.  
Silence filled the kitchen as the couple sat together, thoughts   
heavy and painful. Their six-year-old child had been maliciously   
kidnapped by a group of evil villains, and they had no way of tracking  
her down. The only hope lied in their eldest daughter, who had   
mysteriously ran out of the house at two in the morning...  
Leaning back in her seat, Mina suppressed tears. "Each time I   
think about it," she sighed, "it makes less and less sense." She bowed  
her head and allowed herself to cry softly. "For the first time in my   
life, I feel so completely helpless..."  
Her husband scooted into the chair beside her and wrapped an arm  
around her shaking shoulders. "Mina, they've never let you down   
before," he pointed out in a soft, soothing voice. "Why would they   
choose now?" She picked up her head, and he let an idle index finger   
wipe away her tears. "I know that, right now, you feel completely   
hopeless," he pointed out, "but they will be alright. Lyra has dusted   
larger monsters than the skeletons in her closet..."  
"And Celeste?" asked Mina, her light blue eyes filling with   
doubt. "What will she do without our help?"  
Pulling her closer, Andrew let out a long sigh. "I don't know   
Mina," he admitted softly, smoothing her silken tresses. "But it will   
all be okay."   
************  
  
The room was swirling around her, flying around her head in   
terrifyingly fast circles. When had her head began pounding so   
fiercely? She closed her green eyes. Wasn't that what Ma had always   
said? Closing your eyes made a headache go away? She didn't know, but   
it was the best she could do to keep from being physically sick.  
It was also cool. The hard metal cot was neither comfortable nor   
comforting, and she couldn't do much else but lay back down on it and   
pull her purple dress closer.   
She was in little more than a bleak, dark cell, and she heard   
voices speak as she clutched the satiny fabric of her gown.  
"She's sick, Violence! You can't do this!"  
"When did you become so soft?"  
There was the sickening sound of a slap, and one of the two   
people--the second speaker, who was male--yelped in pain. "What the   
Hell did you do that for?" he shot in annoyance.  
"She's sick," came the short reply. "I don't want her in that   
cell."   
The man began to protest again, receiving another quick slap.   
"Eeouch!" he exclaimed.  
Returning, the woman's voice was stubborn. "What good will a   
dead Sailor Scout do us?" she asked sternly. An exasperated sigh from   
the man was heard. "That's what I thought," declared the woman smugly.  
"Now, put the girl in my room."  
"But..." The man trailed off, probably getting a hand raised in   
the general direction of his cheek once again. "Yes, Doubt. Right   
away."  
Strong arms picked her up, and she felt her body become warmer   
as the man carried her through what were probably the darkened   
hallways of the Raider Starship.  
And the last thing that Celeste remembered before falling asleep  
was being placed in a warm, soft bed.  
************  
  
Sunlight filtered slowly through the window as Richard stirred   
and his blue eyes fluttered open. Blinking a little, he attempted to l  
ean toward the coffee table and grab his glasses.  
But he was restrained by a pair of thin arms wrapped around his   
waist and a blonde-topped head leaning against his chest. His still   
BARE chest. Groaning inwardly, he remembered the events of the night   
previous and squinted to read the clock.  
Eight-thirty a.m. "Oh, just..." He re-read the clock. Eight-  
thirty? He'd not meant to sleep so late! He had an astronomy class at   
the conservatory in less than an hour, and Lyra was undoubtedly   
missed...  
Stirring, the blonde teen released him and stretched, sitting   
straight up on the Umino couch, brown eyes still tightly shut. "Oh,   
Becky," she commented warily, with a yawn, "you wouldn't believe..."  
Her eyes flew open, and witnessed first-hand her surrounding.   
"Aack!" she yelped, diving away from the young man as though he were   
on fire. "It wasn't a dream!"  
Casually, Richard slid his glasses on and stood. "Good morning,   
I'll make breakfast, and no--nothing happened, if you even so much as   
think that." Walking into the kitchen, he once again adjusted his too-  
big pants before continuing. "You showed up at my door last night,   
sobbing and blaming yourself for Celeste's disappearance." With   
another yawn, he opened one of the cabinets with a shrug. "I tried to   
console you, but you've got a great death grip and trapped me on the   
couch WITH you."  
She accepted a cup of sweet-smelling coffee and then looked at   
his attire with doubt. He wasn't bad looking, and she felt a slight   
blush creep across her face. His chest was strong, muscles taunt, and   
skin well-tanned. And Lyra, being the innocent ninth-grader that she   
was, had never seen a man without a shirt on... Well, that was a lie,   
but she'd never seen a man who she LIKED without a shirt on, and she'd  
never--though she wouldn't admit it--really enjoyed seeing a man like   
that. Feeling herself blush more red, she plopped down into one of the  
kitchen chairs and studied her mug with interest.   
"Don't blush," he told her, placing a skillet on the stove. "I   
didn't know what I was wearing until AFTER I was bound to the couch by  
a pair of thin--but unduly strong--arms." Pulling a carton of eggs   
from the refrigerator, he winked. "But I'm sort of glad that you   
showed up, Star."   
Nearly choking on the coffee, the blonde combed a hand through   
her curly hair. "Well, I'm glad, then," she managed, a bit nervously.   
"I didn't know who else to turn to, so..." Seeing the clock for the   
first time, she gasped loudly and jumped up. "Oh, God! I have to go!"  
Following her out of the kitchen, he watched mournfully as she   
slipped on her tennis shoes and zipped her coat. "I'm sorry," she   
apologized, a bit red. "I have a Scout Meeting today, and I'm going to  
be late!" Standing on her tiptoes, she smiled and brushed her lips   
against his softly. "Thank you."  
Richard pulled her into a quick, tight hug before opening the   
door and showing her out. As he shut it, a slight smile crossed his   
face.   
"God," he whispered to himself, still excited from the daring   
peck and arms still warm from holding her, "I adore that girl."  
************  
  
"This isn't like Lyra," observed the ebony-haired Priestess,   
staring out across the city through one of Reeny's bedroom windows.   
"She's so rarely late."  
The other girls all looked to their friend, concerned   
expressions on their pale faces. The pink-haired girl adjusted the   
child in her arms and let out a long sigh. "Is that so?" she inquired   
softly, placing Ambriel on the bed and searching for a clean diaper.   
"I wonder why she's not here, then."  
Alice stuck out her tongue. "You are NOT going to change that   
baby on your bed, are you?" Seeing the look of disgusting   
determination on the Princess' face, the younger girl paled. "Are   
you?"  
Shrugging, Reeny seized a diaper and began pulling down the   
child's pants. "Where else are we going to change her?"  
"WE?" Haley's eyes nearly bugged out. "WE are not changing   
anything!"  
Nodding, Alice played with the two strands of loose auburn hair   
on either side of her face. "I'm with Haley on this one," she   
responded.  
The blue-haired Scout looked up from her fierce game of   
solitaire. "Wimp," she chortled, flipping over three more cards and   
staring blankly at the cards and making a face. "Darn! Lost again!"  
Tara stomped her foot and turned on the other four girls. "This   
is serious!" she shot in annoyance, green eyes flaring dangerously. "I  
don't believe you! Lyra has basically disappeared!" Crossing her arms   
across her chest, she made a face. "You are unbelievable!"  
"We are?" inquired Alice, glaring at the youngest of the six   
Scouts. "Look who's talking! You're so preoccupied with yourself and   
your own little world, and then you come out and basically accuse US   
of being heartless!"  
"Al..." warned Phoebe, icy eyes darting to her friend's face.   
"Temper..."  
The teen ignored her. "You can't fire read," she continued in   
anger, voice morphing quickly into a dangerously low growl, "and   
you're a nuisance besides." Sticking her nose into the air, she   
crossed her arms and waited for the tempered Priestess to fire her own  
comments back.  
But the raven-haired girl did no such thing. With an audible   
sniffle, she spun back to the window and cleared her throat softly.   
"I'm sorry you think that," came the quiet, reserved reply.  
Tension, obviously unwanted, filled the room as everyone stared   
at Tara in a bit of shock. It wasn't like her to let such a contest go  
unchallenged.  
"Well, this is a day for surprises," Reeny broke in, cutting the  
silence with her cherry comment. Fastening the clean diaper onto the   
squirming, giggling Ambriel, she held out what appeared to be a white   
ball. "Someone toss this dirty thing, will you?"  
The others all voiced their regrets and quickly busied   
themselves with other, more 'important' things--Tara stated that she   
had to watch for Lyra, Phoebe focused onto her card game, and Alice   
and Haley had a sudden urgency to go over the notes they'd taken on   
the Raiders.  
"Fine," snarled the Princess, annoyed. "I guess I'll do it..."  
"Here," came a new, happy voice, "let me." Lyra took the diaper   
in her hands and lobed it into a wastebasket with ease. "Now that   
that's done with, can we talk?"  
"Where have you been?" inquired Tara in a concerned tone,   
knotting her black eyebrows. "It's not like you to be so late..."  
Snorting, Alice rubbed her fingernails smugly across her chest.   
"A whole half hour," she muttered just loud enough for the group to   
hear. "Wow."  
Blushing, the blonde girl shrugged a little bit. "No where   
special," she assured them quickly. Perhaps too quickly. Ambriel had a  
knowing grin on her face, which was a bit frightening. They'd all seen  
that gleam in her gray eyes once before, and her transformation pen   
had appeared at that point. That girl knew something. "Well, anyway,"   
Lyra nervously put in after a heavy silence had descended, "we'd   
better get this meeting underway."  
The little redheaded child winked. "Love," she put in, sitting   
down on the floor near Reeny's feet.   
"Huh?" asked the others in unison, staring at the child. The   
little girl had a disgustingly innocent smile across her tiny face as   
she pulled on part of Reeny's princess gown.   
The pink-haired teen bent over to look in Ambriel's eyes. "What   
did you say?" she asked as though the child could understand the   
question being asked of her.  
Eyelashes fluttered as the toddler cooed and held the dress' hem  
above her head. "Mommy!" she announced gleefully.  
Laughing, Alice rolled her eyes and turned back to the notes on   
the desk. "Some meeting!" she quipped. "Some meeting indeed!"  
************  
  
Slamming her fist onto the table's smooth surface, Lita raised   
her voice for the first time at the Meeting of Mistresses. "This isn't  
just some godforsaken battle, Uranus!" she shot at the levelheaded   
blonde who sat across the table from her. "This is the kidnapping of   
an innocent child!"  
Crossing her arms, Alexandra cleared her throat, voice eerily   
calm. "Who is to say that she is really all that innocent?" she   
inquired softly.  
The Meeting had not been going well. The Outer Planet Mistresses,  
much as they had been in the past, were positively cynical and dry;   
their emotions did not interfere with their logic, as it had always   
been. However, by the time Alexandra had suggested just allowing the   
enemy to appear with the child, the group had lost its civil ways.  
"Alex..." growled the aquamarine haired Mistress from her seat   
between Amy and Susan. "You really could try to feel instead of   
think."  
Neo-Queen Serenity cleared her throat, folding her hands on the   
tabletop in a calm and considerate gesture. "I really think that we   
should hear from Sailor Pluto," she softly interrupted the feud   
between the Outer and Inner Mistresses. Her azure eyes flew to Susan   
thoughtfully.  
The Guardian of Time took a deep breath. Time to come clean for   
the sake of the Mistresses. "Due to my pregnancy of late," she said   
after a brief pause, "I am not able to travel to the Gate of Time."   
Hearing a few assorted gasps from the Inners, she paled a bit. "My   
research shows that prolonged exposure to the Gate can speed up aging   
in children and babies, and my powers have somehow refused to expose   
my unborn children to that." Sighing, she looked at her belly with a   
shake of her head. "I am truly sorry."  
"Well, THIS is just great!" announced Raye in a low voice. "The   
Guardian of Time can't even guard her stupid Gate, two children are   
missing, and we haven't a plan on what to do!"  
Mina sneered. "You haven't been much help, you know!" the blonde  
Mistress put in, blood-shot eyes growing vicious. "Maybe you should   
get your head on straight!"  
"Maybe," shot the brunette from her seat, "you should stop   
rushing us!"  
"Now, guys," put in Amy, running a nervous hand through her blue  
hair, "this isn't the time..."  
"Shove it!" yelped Mina.  
And thus, the fighting broke out. The Inners screamed at each   
other, the Inners screamed at Susan, Alex and Michelle tried to defend  
their best friend, and the Guardian of Time burst out in tears.  
Both the Queen of the Earth and Hannah, the Mistress of Life and  
Death, watched with calm expressions on their faces. Much worse, after  
all, had gone on between the nine warriors, and it was almost good to   
see the majority of them bicker like children.  
But Hannah could feel the acid build up in the back of her   
throat. Why couldn't they try to get along? Taking a deep breath, she   
slowly kicked away her chair and rose, her usually frail voice cutting  
through the argument like a hot knife through butter.  
"SHUT THE HELL UP AND LISTEN TO ME!"  
Everyone froze, staring at the thin, pale young woman as she   
clenched her fists to her sides and stared them each down separately,   
her chest rising and falling angrily as she bristled beneath her own   
anger. "You," she spat, in a very cold voice, "are all acting like a   
bunch of spoiled children--it's as though each of you matters only   
when you're alone." Her purple eyes narrowed to slits. "Well, guess   
the Hell what! You're not alone anymore!"  
"Hannah..." Michelle's tone was urgent as she looked at her   
elder daughter.  
"No, Mom," she responded, her teeth pulling at her upper lip,   
"I'm not going to sit down until you hear me out." She relaxed the   
slightest bit. "And if I have to yell at you all to shut you up and to  
get you to act like adults, then guess what--I'll do just that."  
With a slight--almost proud--smile, Serenity nodded to the   
youngest of the Mistresses. "Perhaps," her warm voice put in, "it is   
time to listen to Mistress Saturn."  
"Perhaps," agreed Mina softly, pulling up her chair, which had   
been kicked away during the argument, "it is."  
************  
  
"I haven't the foggiest what to make of it," she commented   
softly, staring at the computer screen with wide eyes. "Never before   
have I seen such readings."  
He bristled, tail puffing up a bit. "Are you sure that you got   
this reading from space?" he cautiously inquired, voice soft and   
intrigued. "There's a good chance that..."  
Their mother cleared her throat. "I complied that reading   
myself," she assured them in her English accent. "And never in my   
years have I seen something like that."  
"And she's had a lot of years," their father cut in with a   
strong chuckle.  
Four Moon Cats stared blankly at the main screen of the security  
computer at Crystal Palace. All eyes focused, unblinking, at the   
readings that had been pulled from the outskirts of the Earth's   
atmosphere early that afternoon. High amounts of used fuel-like   
materials and what appeared to be bits of broken aircraft parts had   
been floating extremely near to the planet, and none of the four could  
understand why.  
"This doesn't make sense!" shot Orb, bristling as he wrenched   
his gaze away. "It's as though there's some sort of craft circling the  
Earth... Dangerously close to us...but...never..." He gritted his   
teeth as the other cats stared at him with amazed expressions.   
Scratching himself behind the ears with a back paw, he furrowed his   
brow. "What?"  
Luna's frown turned into a delighted smile as she rushed over to  
a keyboard of controls on the panel. "You're a genius!" she exclaimed,  
furiously typing as she spoke. "Why didn't I think of that?"  
"Eighth degree of focus?" asked Diana, working at the other   
keyboard as her mother worked at the other. "Where do you want me to   
point it?"  
Artemis looked at the screen with thoughtful blue eyes,   
wrinkling his nose. "No, better go to the twelfth, dear."  
"What are you doing?" inquired the orange-and-white guardian,   
confusion in his voice. "Eighth degree? Twelfth? HUH?"  
Shaking her head, his mother continued typing. "The Palace," she  
explained calmly, "owns a satellite camera. We're just getting a   
picture of what you suggested could be a starship."  
He paled. "I was joking!" he protested loudly. "Why do you   
listen to me only when I'm cynical?"  
Flickering, the screen produced a rather large picture of a   
black ship, cyclical in design, with tiny crimson lights attached to   
it. It moved slowly, and seemed to withstand all the gravity that   
SHOULD have been pulling it toward the Earth.  
"It looks like something out of Star Wars," sighed Diana, red   
eyes wide with terror and surprise.   
"We should warn the others," Luna finally said after a short,   
heavy pause. Her gaze fixed on the aircraft and she shuddered   
noticeably. "Very, very soon," she sighed before jumping off the panel  
and starting for the door.  
************  
  
"Lyra?"  
The blonde snapped from her thoughts quickly, shaking her head   
before focusing on the blue-haired speaker. "Oh, sorry Phoebe," she   
smiled, resting her chin on her fist. "What did you say?"  
Alice made a face, still riffling through the notes that sat on   
the marble floor. "You've been all spacey for the last hour," she   
observed, cocking her head to the side. "Every other suggestion that   
we throw to you has to be repeated..."  
Nodding in agreement, Haley sat up on her elbows, kicking her   
legs idly as she laid on the bed. "Come on," she whined, acting very   
unlike her normal, relatively adult self, "tell us now!"  
With a sigh, Lyra leaned forward in her chair and cleared her   
throat. "Well, it's like this," she told them solemnly. "I blamed  
myself on Celeste's kidnapping, and..."  
She talked for a good ten minutes, telling them all about her   
early-morning sojourn to Richard's, waking to find herself in his   
embrace, and the part that had most bothered her... His attitude.  
"He was very short with me," she sighed, shaking her head slowly  
and combing a nervous hand through her messy hair. "He just explained   
to me what had happened, assured me that we hadn't..." Lyra blushed   
noticeably and paused for a brief moment. "Well, anyway, he just   
didn't seem too happy..."  
Nodding sympathetically, Tara looked at her friend with a slight  
smile. "I think," she observed, "that he may be afraid of your   
mother." After receiving confused looks from her friends, she smiled a   
bit more and continued. "She's been riling him since the first time   
you went out, hasn't she?"  
"Yeah!" Reeny chimed in, pausing from her game of 'peek-a-boo'   
with Ambriel long enough to glance up at her blonde companion. "She's   
been a real pain!"  
Lyra paled. "That's just how Ma is..."  
"And perhaps," Phoebe suggested, "that's why he was acting that   
way. Knowing that you had spent the night at his apartment...WITH   
HIM...would fry your mother's brain cells!"  
"But, now," the Princess winked, handing a rattle to her little   
charge, "we want DETAILS!"  
************  
  
"Now, I want you to transform!" Doubt placed her hands on her   
shapely hips, a dark grimace on her face.   
The little blonde girl sniffled, still wearing her flower-girl   
outfit. Sitting up a little taller in the Raider's bed, she sniffled a  
little and put on her cutest, most innocent smile, hoping that she   
could stall the woman. "I'm hungry..." she cooed softly, stretching   
and managing a feeble but realistic yawn. "Can't I have just a little,  
tiny bit to eat?" Tears gathered at the corners of her bright green   
eyes. "Pretty please with sugar, Ms. Doubt?"  
Resisting her urge to beam the child in the face, the Raider   
waved her hands in a quick circle and produced a full meal, including   
shrimp-flavored Ramen, macaroni and cheese, nihon soba, and a large   
array of vegetables. "Happy?" she spat, wrinkling her nose as the   
smell of the food filled her nostrils.   
"You want some?" asked the child, clambering out of the bed and   
jumping into one of the black wrought-iron chairs at the small table   
under a window. "I don't like broccoli, so you can have mine."  
Doubt seated herself across from the child, picking a piece of   
the green vegetable from the plate and fingering it thoughtfully.   
"I've never eaten human food," she admitted softly, popping the food   
in her mouth. After a long moment, she chewed and swallowed it with   
care. "Not too bad," she commented. Seeing the child's delighted   
smile, the Raider cocked her head. Chibi-Star was thoroughly enjoying   
her breakfast. She didn't understand why, though. "Sailor Chibi-Star?"  
"Celeste," winked the little girl sweetly. "I'm not a Sailor   
right now, so..."  
"Well, then... Celeste..." Doubt furrowed her brow. "Why are you  
so pleasant to me?"  
The child seemed to consider this and leaned back in the chair,   
swinging her legs in contemplation. "That I really don't know," she   
admitted. "But Ma--my mother, I mean--always said to look on the   
bright side and to see the good in everyone." Picking her chopsticks   
back up, she poked at the Ramen before shoving a clump of noodles into  
her mouth. "You made the hallway not-so-dark."  
"True," responded the Raider, picking at a second sprig of   
broccoli. "Very true."  
"And, besides," continued the girl, "I knew that you were the   
one who told the man in red to put me in the big bed." She smiled   
gently and stuck her hair into the air. "It made me very happy. Can we  
be friends?"  
Nearly taking the girl's hand, Doubt felt herself gulp and shook  
her head slowly. "No, we can't," she plainly stated, watching as the   
girl's smile faded away and she withdrew her hand. "We are forced to   
be enemies. Horrible enemies," she sighed, a bit of remorse in her   
voice. "The catch is that I am evil, and you soon will be put through   
the wringer..."  
Gasping, Celeste pulled her knees up to her chest and held back   
a sob. "I thought..." she trailed off, wiping a tear from her eye. "Ma  
always said that there are no such things as evil people."  
"Your mother is a Planet Mistress, no?" inquired the Raider, not  
waiting for her charge to respond. "Therein lies the problem."  
And with that, she blinked out of existence, leaving a little   
girl no longer hungry, but very much alone.  
************  
  
"Will it work?" Mina's voice was extremely urgent as she wrung   
her hands nervously. "Do you really think that we can con the Raiders   
into bringing her back?"  
With a new authority, Hannah nodded and placed her hands   
gingerly on the tabletop. "Haley has done a lot of research on the   
Raiders," she explained, "and they want both the Imperium Silver   
Crystal and Galactic Rod much more than they do the child." She pushed  
her glasses higher up on her nose. "They know something we don't, and   
they're not planning on telling us."  
Letting out a long sigh, Lita sipped her water slowly. "If what   
you say is true," she thought aloud, "then we've got to be careful   
with what measures we take."  
"They're probably keeping surveillance on us all the time," put   
in Amy calmly. "Not closely, but definitely through some means."  
The sandy-haired woman clutched onto her wife's hand. "Both the   
seas and skies have been uneasy of late," she stated softly, mostly to  
herself.  
Michelle nearly reared back. "You didn't tell me about the   
skies!" she shot, glaring at her companion. "Would you care to   
explain?"  
Alex coughed into her free fist and turned pink. "When I first   
felt it," she hissed under her breath, "we were slightly busy, as I   
recall..."  
The other paled and then turned bright red, squeezing the hand   
in hers but not saying anything.  
Rolling her eyes, Raye cut in before things got 'interesting',   
as things most often did when the Outers were around. "I think that we  
should get our 'offer' placed in front of their long noses as soon as   
possible..." She trailed off, violet eyes on Mina.  
But it was the Guardian of Time who spoke. "Before they hurt   
Celeste," she finished, receive a few glares. "And please, don't look   
at me like that," she requested softly. "I've become very close to the  
girl in the past week, what with the wedding and all..."  
"She has a point," Amy commented, smoothing her blue sweater.   
"And it shouldn't matter where our private loyalties lie... We are all  
Planet Mistresses and we are all loyal to one another first." She   
stood slowly, a sad smile on her face. "The time, however, has come to  
tell the Galactic Sailors of our plan."  
"How will they take it?" asked Hannah softly. "I couldn't even   
begin to predict that."  
"Who knows?" Serenity rose, smoothing her silvery dress as she   
stood. "The important thing is just to tell the girls. Nothing bad can  
come of knowledge." She smiled slightly. "Nothing."  
************  
  
Giggling, Phoebe cupped a hand over her wide-opened mouth and   
smiled vastly. "So you KISSED him?" she repeated in a shocked tone.   
"On the LIPS?"  
Lyra smiled widely, blushing deeply as her friend nosed into her  
personally life. "Yes, I did," she softly sighed, hardly audible over   
the delighted laughs of her friends. "How do you guys get off being so  
nosy?"  
"Oh, come on!" yelped Haley loudly, covering the subtle sound of  
the door opening. "You ENJOYED it!"  
Tara's green eyes went large and she gritted her teeth.   
"Guys..." she hissed under her breath, trying to grab her friends'   
attentions.   
They continued with their discussion. "Lyra," Reeny chuckled,   
holding out her hairbrush as a microphone. "In a half-asleep stupor,   
you ended up with your arms around the waist of a shirtless hot guy.   
What are you going to do now?"  
"Guys..."  
"Kiss him again!" mocked Haley in a timbre similar to the   
blonde's. "His lips are soooooo silky smooth..." She sighed wistfully,  
stars in her eyes. "For I am Sailor Polaris!"  
"Guys..."  
"Come on!" protested Lyra, her face turning bright red as her   
friend continued with their ranting. "This isn't fair! Why do I have   
to be the first one to have a boyfriend in the group?" She crossed her  
arms over her chest. "I'll say it one more time--despite the obviously  
scandalous fact that I did spend the night on the Unimo's couch, I did  
it in good behavior!" Pouting, her voice became a bit dreamier.   
"Though I must say... He's got a great body."  
By this point in time, the face of the Shinto teen had gone   
pasty white as she stood at the doorway, green eyes wide and rather   
apologetic. Gulping, she put on her most commanding expression and   
turned to the group. "I HATE to interrupt," she shot in a loud voice,   
"but I think that we have company!"  
Everyone turned slowly to the door, faces all warped into   
various grimaces. They were in for it. Lyra could feel her heart dive   
into her stomach as she adjusted the way she sat in the chair to face   
the door.  
"Mistress Venus," Reeny attempted, bowing a bit and tossing her   
hairbrush across the room. "I'm sure you're wondering what we were   
just talking about..."  
Rubbing the back of her neck, Haley grimaced noticeably. "We   
assure you; it's not like it all sounds."  
Her face was as white as a sheet and her blue eyes doubtful as   
the young Mistress stared at her daughter in disdain. No one dared to   
breathe while waiting for the woman to respond, and a thick, almost   
tangible silence overcame them as she froze in place.  
"Ma..." choked the blonde girl, drawing her knees up to her   
chest and biting her lower lip. "I can explain."  
"Out," she whispered, light eyes darting to the other five   
Scouts. "I appreciate you trying to cover up for my daughter, but get   
out." Her tone was icy as she folded her hands and let them drop to   
the waist of her orange dress. "And leave us be."  
Scooping up Ambriel, Tara bowed reverently, trying not to say   
anything to further upset the situation. "Yes Ma'am," she responded,   
pushing the pink-haired teen out in front of her.  
The brunette Scouts both blushed while walking past the Mistress.  
"We're sorry," breathed Alice, involuntarily clutching one of her   
friend's hands. "We egged her on..."  
"And my comments," Haley sighed, "were not very appropriate."  
A glare focused upon her from the azure eyes, and the teen   
dragged her companion out as quickly as she could.  
With a bow, Phoebe winked at the woman. "You know, Mrs. Mokoti,"  
she put in, "we all love your daughter and take real good care for her  
around here." Not getting anything beyond a stoic glance from the   
blonde adult, she continued. "We make sure that she's safe, and we   
feel it when she's not." She bowed, lower this time, and took one of   
Mina's warm hands. "I just hope you know that," she stated, squeezing   
it. "Okay?"  
And with that, Lyra and her mother were alone.  
************  
  
"NO!"  
Celeste pulled away from the cold grip around her wrist, green   
eyes lowered dangerously toward the man. "I will not let you hurt me,   
Raider Violence."  
Growling, the man pulled out his sword and looked at her with   
anger in his red eyes. "You, Chibi-Star," he pointed out, "are a fool.  
A godforsaken fool." Waving the sword dangerously close to her neck,   
Violence sneered. "Now, transform."  
Why did they want her to transform? She didn't know, that was   
for sure. Still, the little blonde girl wrapped her fingers around the  
cool metal shaft of the pen and held it above her head, the power   
already beginning to flow freely through her. Clearing her throat, she  
took a deep breath. "Small Star Power... Make UP!" she screamed.  
Ribbons of yellow and purple light swirled around her, first   
creating a locket and then creating a white body suit. Stars flew   
about, creating a purple skirt and two yellow bows--one held in place   
by the locket, and another on her behind. A tiara appeared on her   
brow, purple sandals on her feet, and two bright purple bows replaced   
the tattered lavender ones holding her pigtails. She struck a pose and  
froze, a scowl on her face.  
"That felt funny," she shot at the Raider, placing her hands on   
her hips. "I don't know why, but it felt like someone was controlling  
my energy."  
A young man, with dark crimson hair and coal-black eyes appeared  
out of nowhere and stared down at the abducted child with a slight,   
evil smile crossing his lips. "That is because," he told her with a   
piercing edge to his voice, "I was controlling your energy with my   
powers."  
Gasping, Sailor Chibi-Star backed away from the man, a rather   
frightened pout on her face. "Who... Who are you?" she asked, voice   
shaking. "How can you control my powers?"   
With a laugh, the man reached forth and a hand a touched it to   
her shoulder. She clenched shut her eyes but found her body unwilling   
to move away from his grasp. "I am the Raider King," he announced   
evilly. "And you are about to face death."  
She bristled quickly and crossed her arms. "Now, you listen to   
me," she spat, feeling the sudden empowerment that came from both the   
adrenaline rush of danger and the Sailor Scout abilities coursing   
through her veins. "You can't win. You never had the chance." Her   
green eyes flared with anger. "I have a destiny, and I embrace it. You  
and the Raiders... You hold no fear for me," she informed him   
casually. "You hold no fear for me!" Giggling, Chibi-Star pointed at   
him and grinned. "There are more of us, Mr. 'Raider King'. So you can   
leave your 'holier-than-thou', high-handed attitude at the door," she   
continued smugly. "Because I am going to win..." She winked. "We will   
all win..."  
He took his hand from her shoulder and proceeded to backhand her  
across the face, knocking her to the ground due to the force of the   
slap. "You little brat!" he roared, staring down at her with hate in   
his bright black eyes. "You will NOT win, you will NOT triumph, and   
you are little more than a pitiful excuse for a Sailor Scout!"   
Smoothing his pants, he turned to Violence and lowered his eyes at the  
man. "Find Doubt and take the child to the Chamber of Spirits," he   
commanded softly. "She will de-transform and re-transform there."  
"Yes sir," responded the man with a bow.  
As the King left, Chibi-Star wiped the trickle of blood from her  
lip away and looked at the red splotch on her index finger. Smoothing   
the liquid away with the edge of her fuku, she gulped and, for the   
first time that day, gave into the grief of being alone.  
************  
  
"You disappeared," she coolly said, the ice in her voice hanging   
ominously in the air. "Never before have I seen Becky so worried or   
your father so afraid..."  
Lyra grimaced and stood, rising to her full height of five feet.   
Staring into her mother's blue eyes, she let out a deep breath. "I was  
upset," she explained, "so I went to a friend's house for the night."  
Crossing her arms, Mina lowered her eyes and brought her hoarse   
voice down to a whisper. "You went," she corrected, "to Richard   
Umino's house. No 'friend' about it."  
"He is a friend!" shot the teen, bristling noticeably under the   
harsh words of her mother. "And I don't see what you have against him   
in the first place!"  
Her mother ignored her and turned her gaze into an icy glare.   
"You slept on his couch with him," she spat angrily. "You left our   
house and then proceeded to do God-knows-what with a SENIOR!" She   
paused, wiping a tear away from her eyes. "This is not just me against  
him any more, Lyra," she continued, voice losing a bit of its hate and  
frustration. "This is YOU and HIM and it shouldn't be!"  
"We didn't DO anything!" the girl protested, turning her back   
quickly on her mother. "I was upset, and I knew that the other Scouts   
wouldn't understand if I tried to explain!" She sighed. "And I still   
deserve an answer to why you don't like him!"  
"Lyra, he's much older than you!" Mina replied quickly, still   
not listening to her daughter. "He's using you and taking advantage of  
you and..."  
Whirling back around, Lyra's brown eyes filled with anger and   
hate. "If he did want to take advantage of me, I'd probably go   
willingly!"  
A heavy silence covered the room as she said this. Neither   
mother nor child dared to move as Lyra's words echoed through the   
high-ceilinged marble chamber and died out into nothing more than   
quiet. Both pair of eyes were sad, depressed, and angry, and Lyra's   
breath came and went in ragged-sounding wheezes.   
Mina finally spoke after a long moment. "You don't mean that,   
dear," she stated softly, her tone more wistful than before. "You're   
just saying that."  
"Am I?" retorted the teen, brushing a few wispy bangs from her   
eyes. "Or has it ever occurred to you that you just might be wrong?"   
Her question received a nervous gasp. "That you--Mina-the-warden,   
everybody's FAVORITE super mother--just might have screwed this one   
up."  
"You're blinded by him," Mina responded after a brief moment to   
consider the accusation. "He's taken advantage of you once already."  
Lyra's face was masked in disbelief. "Do you listen to   
yourself?" she asked in amazement. "I mean, really LISTEN to yourself?  
You're so damn self-righteous that you can't see three feet in front   
of your face!" Placing her hands on her hips, she sighed. "It's not   
that I'm not sorry, Ma," she told the woman before her, "it's that   
you're making it very HARD to be sorry!"   
"You slept on his couch with him," the woman slowly continued.   
"And he didn't have a shirt on, from what I hear." Her tone was like   
ice as she spoke. "You kissed him... And then you told the Scouts   
about it without telling your own mother..." She glanced at the floor   
as a tear trailed down her cheek.  
"Is that what this is really all about?" inquired the blonde   
teen, taking a slight step toward her mother. "The fact that I don't   
always turn to you anymore?"  
Mina turned her back and started out the door. "I... I have to   
go...and think..." she mumbled half-heartedly. "Go to the meeting with  
the Scouts and Mistresses."  
Stomping her foot, Lyra lowered her eyes. "You are not leaving   
this unresolved, Ma!" she screamed after the blonde adult. "Stand up   
against someone for once! Make a statement and stand behind it!"   
Ducking out the door in front of her mother, the teen choked on her   
own tears. "You're just running away from your problems!"  
The adult glanced up, face wet with tears. Her tone was icy and   
voice cool as she spoke.  
"Why shouldn't I? It's exactly what YOU do."  
And Mina walked quickly down the hall and away from her elder   
daughter, not once looking back.  
************  
  
"Transform!"  
Collapsing onto the cool marble floor, Celeste whimpered, not   
daring to look up at the Raider before her. "Please, no more..." she   
breathed, clutching her stomach with one hand and holding another to   
her bruised cheek. "I'm in pain..."  
Violence pulled out his sword and polished it idly on a   
handkerchief. "Do as I say, Chibi-Star," he shot menacingly, glaring   
down at her with fiery eyes. "We still have not collected all the   
appropriate readings on your energy."  
"Maybe we should give her a moment," came Doubt's cool voice   
from across the room. She sat in front of a large computer, a small   
pair of black spectacles perched low on her nose. "Each time she   
transforms, her energy wavers."  
The Raider man sneered. "We don't have time!" he shot back,   
kicking the discarded transformation stick toward the girl. "She must   
transform so we can compile all the readings!"  
Doubt's tone was stern. "We could kill her if we're not   
careful," she shot back, feeling herself bristle. "Imagine what the   
King would do to us in THAT turn of events."  
He did imagine and shuddered after a brief moment. "You're   
right, of course," he sighed, shaking his head slowly. "It wouldn't be  
pleasant..."  
The girl looked up, the deep fear still in her usually bright   
eyes. "Do I get a break?" she whispered.   
Picking that time to exit, Violence faded into a puff of smoke,   
leaving only the gray-dressed Raider woman and the child behind. "Of   
course," Doubt responded, typing on the machine and otherwise ignoring  
the girl. "We wouldn't want you to die, now would we?"  
"No," smiled Celeste, a bit of relief in her high voice. "I'm   
sure you wouldn't..."  
"Because we're not done with our mission," the woman finished   
quickly, feeling herself shiver. Was that really her reason?  
Celeste hoped otherwise.  
************  
  
The five Scouts and Ambriel filed into the Queen's chamber,   
quietly awaiting the unveiling of the plan to rescue Celeste. Everyone  
was deathly silent as the teens plopped into various chairs and   
couches without much regard for proper behavior.   
It was Reeny who first spoke, breaking the restless silence that  
surrounded them. "So, what's the plan?" she inquired with a slight   
yawn, pulling Ambriel onto her lap as she spoke. "We don't have all   
day."  
From their spots on the bed, both Luna and Diana rolled their   
eyes at the Princess. The pink cat was about to verbalize her   
complaint when Serenity spoke up.  
"Now, Reeny," she softly scolded, not trying to sound angry as   
much as trying to sound regal, "you know that patience is a virtue."  
"Besides," cut in Lita quietly, "you're missing a member, you   
know."  
Grimacing, Tara folded her hands nervously and stared at the   
ground. "I don't think she will be coming any time soon," came her   
soft response. "Mistress Venus went to...talk...with her."  
The women all looked at one another before responding to the   
girl. "Well..." sighed Hannah, wringing her hands a little. "That's   
how Venus is sometimes." Chewing on her lower lip, she took a breath.   
"We have," Amy said solemnly, "formulated a plan. And the time   
has come..."  
"...the walrus said, to talk of many things," finished Phoebe   
with a giggle. Receiving a stern glare from her mother, she shrugged.   
"What? It's a really great story."   
Rolling her purple eyes, Raye folded her hands on her lap and   
cleared her throat. "Our plan is to offer forth to the Raiders what   
they most desire."  
Four of the Galactic Sailors grimaced at this statement, but   
Reeny knew what they were talking about and paled greatly. "No way,"   
she urgently spat out, jumping up and cradling Ambriel close to her   
chest. "I am NOT letting you get away with this..."  
Serenity lowered her cerulean eyes quickly, her face turning   
determined. "Please, Reeny," she requested, "let us finish."  
"The plan," the Mistress of Saturn assured them in a rather   
quick tone, "is simple and foolproof." She smiled slightly. "We offer   
to the Raiders both the Imperium Silver Crystal and the Galactic Rod   
for the save return of Chibi-Star. The rest of the Scouts will hide   
somewhere near the pre-described meeting point and..." Feeling Haley's  
eyes stare at her, she nervously turned to her younger sister. "What?"  
Flickering across Hannah's face, the two teal orbs smiled as the  
girl did. "I think," the brunette admitted with a grin, "that this   
will work very well."  
The youngest Mistress beamed brightly before continuing. "If   
Neo-Sailor Moon is careful to delay the Raiders for the time it takes   
both the Galactic Sailors and two or three chosen Mistresses to   
transform, then..." She trailed off for a minute, still smiling. "Then  
I'm sure that the seven Sailor Scouts will be able to defeat the   
Raiders and save the child."  
"And what," came Lyra's voice from the doorway, "happens if my   
sister can't transform?" Walking shakily into the room, the blonde   
teen chewed on her lower lip before sitting beside Tara on one of the   
two small couches. "What will we do then?"  
The aqua-haired Mistress was crestfallen. "We hadn't thought of   
that," admitted the musician with a long sigh. "I suppose, then..."  
Alice snorted. "We're doomed..."  
"Alice," scolded Lita sternly.  
Rolling her eyes, Alexandra leaned back against the wall. "Here   
we go again," she muttered to herself with a long sigh.   
"Don't start!" shot Susan, still upset from the Inners' rude   
words earlier in the day. "We don't need another battle." Noticing   
that no one heard her, the green-haired woman cleared her throat and   
stood slowly. "Shut up!" she yelped. "I'm sick of us all acting like   
babies!" Everyone stopped their bickering and stared at her with wide   
eyes. She made a face. "We are not very good examples for the Galactic  
Sailors," she shot angrily. "Fighting all the time and never getting   
so much as ONE thing accomplished. We're not Planet Mistresses, we're   
school-age children!" With a sigh, the pregnant woman sat down and   
rubbed her temples slowly, her face pale. "A child is missing. Do you   
all actually care about that?"  
Silence fell over the room, and it was apologetic and mournful.   
Finally, a clear voice cut through the weight of the quiet.  
"I--for one--think that we've got to do something as soon as   
possible," announced Tara in an authoritative tone very unlike her   
normal soft voice. "We're the Sailor Scouts, and we protect the   
innocent and the oppressed. The kidnapped, too." Standing, she smiled   
broadly. "And if it were one of us instead of Celeste, I'm sure that   
she'd say the exact same thing."  
"She's six," chortled Alice, a thoughtful expression crossing   
her face nonetheless. "But you ARE right. Let's get this whole thing   
started out on the right foot, though."   
The Planet Mistresses all nodded separately, smiling slightly.   
"Let's do it!" exclaimed an enthusiastic Lita with a grin.  
And the 'right foot' was off and running.  
************  
  
"Mina, what a pleasant surprise," smiled the red-haired woman,   
opening the door widely. "Come on in... I know it's a mess, but it's   
home..."  
The blonde walked slowly into the roomy apartment, slipping off   
her shoes and chewing nervously on the inside of her cheek. What was   
she going to say?  
Molly hadn't changed a bit, she noted with the slightest smile.   
Her red hair was still wavy and had a mind of its own, the light blue   
bow still holding it up; her blue eyes still smiled, even if they now   
did so behind a pair of thick-lensed glasses.   
"Would you like some tea?"  
Jumping a bit, Mina wrenched herself from her thoughts long enough to   
shake her head and shrug. "Actually," she admitted, "I'm here to talk   
to you about Lyra."  
The other woman smiled and gestured toward the couch. "She's   
such a sweet girl!" Molly assured her happily, a large smile on her   
face. "You really have no idea what a delight she is!"   
"Yes, well, that's not EXACTLY what I need to tell you about."   
Mina felt her anger start to rise up. What a naïve woman! She acted   
innocent. Unduly innocent. "I would like to inform you of your son's   
extremely inappropriate behavior with my daughter," she informed the   
redhead. "And I would like to tell you just what I think of their   
relationship."  
She folded her hands. "Mina," Molly began calmly, "Richard told   
me what happened last night. I myself was out of town and didn't know   
a thing about it." She sighed and shook her head. "And I understand   
where your coming from...somewhat, at least. But if they say nothing   
happened..."  
"My daughter is fourteen!" shot the blonde angrily, sparks of   
hate flying into her lightly azure eyes. "You can't tell me for so   
much as thirty seconds that those two should be dating!"  
With a smile, the other woman shrugged. "I don't see your   
problem, Mina," she disagreed. "We all remember that Endymion and   
Serenity were just as far apart in age, and..."  
Mina snarled. "They are nothing like Endymion and Serenity!"  
"We shall later be the judge of that," Molly responded   
mysteriously, her face still placid. "And I believe my son."  
"He's taking advantage of my daughter!" The Mistress of Venus   
was now completely outraged and she sneered at her companion. "I don't  
believe that you're thinking this is appropriate! My daughter comes   
over looking for comfort and got..."  
The redhead closed her eyes lightly. "Comfort." She sighed a   
bit. "She got comfort from my son. Nothing more." Her voice was still   
level. "I know that you're afraid to think of Lyra and Richard as a   
couple, but I know that nothing bad will come of this pairing, and..."  
"You don't know WHAT you're talking about, Molly!" shot the   
blonde woman in her ranting. "Listen to yourself! Here I have this   
sweet little blonde girl who is in love with this debonair-acting   
senior, and he's after her! Do you ever realize the irony of the   
situation?" Her voice was in a high-pitched scream. "I am the Senshi   
of Love and I never agreed to this!"   
"Now, wait," Molly insisted. "Calm down. You're nearly   
delirious..."  
Mina took a deep breath. "I am NOT delirious, Molly," she   
informed the woman sitting beside her. "You're a crummy parent!"  
"No, she isn't!" came another voice. In the doorway stood   
Richard, wearing sweats and holding a water bottle in his hand. "How   
could you say that, Mrs. Mokoti?"  
His mother shook her head. "Richard, why don't you go and get   
yourself a slice of pizza or something..."  
He looked at her in doubt. "I want her to defend that   
statement," he shot back, disbelief in his eyes as he pushed up his   
glasses. "I want to know what this is all about."  
Standing, the blonde woman glared at him. "This is about YOU   
taking advantage of MY daughter!"  
"Really?" he questioned rhetorically, a sharp glare crossing his  
face. "We didn't DO anything, if that's what you meant. What kind of   
person do you think I am?" His tone was cool as he sighed. "She fell   
asleep with her arms wrapped around my waist. I, in turn, fell asleep.  
But we didn't do so much as ANYTHING."  
"And I believe my son." The woman still on the couch looked up   
at her companion with disdain. "Do you now believe me?"  
Shaking her head, Mina glared at the young man. "You are nothing  
but a deceitful, unruly, contemptible, corrupting monster who has   
nothing better to do than take advantage of young, innocent girls such  
as my daughter." She stuck her nose in the air. "And I do not like it   
one bit!"  
With that, Molly jumped to her feet, glaring menacingly at the   
woman next to her. Drawing the back of her hand across the blonde's   
cheek in one fluid movement, she ignored the outraged gasp and cleared  
her throat. "That is far enough!" she spat, blue eyes lowered   
dangerously. "It is one thing," came the continuation, "to insult me   
and my ways of parenting. But it is ANOTHER to call my son such   
horrible names!" She pointed toward the door. "Get out! Get out of my   
house!"  
The blonde tossed her hair and strolled out of the apartment,   
allowing the redheaded teen to slam the door behind her.   
"What the Hell what that?" inquired Richard angrily, tossing   
down his water bottle in frustration. "Who the Hell does she think she  
is?"  
With a shake of her head, his mother sighed and fiddled with the  
throw pillows. "She's just upset, dear," came her calm response.   
Wiping a tear away from her blue eye, she shrugged. "Don't worry."  
Drawing her into a close hug, the young man smile weakly. "Why   
does my relationship mean so much to you?" he asked softly, rubbing   
her back lightly.  
"Just trust me when I say that the entire world is dependent on   
both your destiny and that girl, alright?" She looked up and pushed a   
few bangs from his eyes. "You'll understand soon enough..."  
"I promise, Mom," he vowed, "that I will not let Mrs. Mokoti   
speak to you like she did ever again."  
Chuckling, the woman pulled away and started for the kitchen. "I  
really don't think that's what you should worry most about right now,"  
she smiled, winking at him knowingly. "I doubt that Lyra will let her   
pull that off again."  
Richard furrowed his brow and let out a long sigh. When was he   
going to understand that woman?  
************  
  
Trudging toward her house, Lyra let out a long sigh. She'd had a  
long day and, though the plot would most likely succeed and her sister  
would soon be safe, she couldn't manage to smile. Her mother had said   
some things that just... The blonde teen shook her head, refusing to   
even think of the stinging words she'd heard.  
'Knowing that you had spent the night at his apartment...WITH   
HIM...would fry your mother's brain cells!'   
Phoebe's words hung in her head as she put a hand to the   
doorknob. The blue-haired Scout had, as usual, been right on target.  
"I wonder what's wrong with you," came a male voice from the   
side of the house. Looking over her shoulder, the girl saw her father   
taking Christmas lights out of the bushes. "You've never been so   
glum."  
Lyra stepped toward him, sighing as her shoes made crunching   
sounds on the lightly snow-capped grass. "Ma said some awful things to  
me today, that's all," she responded softly, untangling one of the   
skeins. "Why on Earth are you taking these down? It's only the day   
after Christmas..."  
He sighed and continued with the lights. "Sometimes, whether you  
like it or not, one loose bulb can throw the whole string off," he   
explained, breath leaving foggy trials through the icy air. "It's not   
the whole string that did it, it's one bulb. And you have to find and   
fix that one light." Indeed, Andrew twisted a single light bulb and   
the entire string was once again illuminated. "See?"  
"So, what you're saying..." Her brown eyes grew wide in   
understanding. "Celeste's kidnapping upset Ma and made her all   
whacked-out, but once we find her, everything will be okay?" She   
grinned and dove into his arms. "Thanks Dad! You're the greatest!"  
As his eldest daughter skipped toward the front door, Andrew ran  
a hand through his thick hair and then rubbed the back of his neck   
apprehensively. "Actually," he sighed to himself, "I was just   
explaining about the light bulbs..."  
************  
  
"Transform!"  
For what seemed to be the twentieth time in an hour, she raised   
the pen into the air. "Small Star Power... Make Up!" she cried,   
falling to her knees in fatigue.  
Nothing happened.  
Doubt and Violence both sprung from their seats at the computer   
as the girl fell to the ground and an odd energy--almost like a clap   
of thunder without any sound--was released, throwing both the Raiders   
into the chamber's far wall.   
"What was that?" groaned Doubt once far mind had cleared and she  
was able to stand. "I've never before felt something that strong..."  
Rising, the man glared at the little girl, who had fainted, and   
knotted his brow. "I don't know," he admitted, "but I don't think it   
was supposed to happen." Violence closed his eyes and shuddered   
briefly. "Something, though, is amiss."  
As her companion faded into a cloud of smoke, Doubt rose and   
walked slowly over to the girl. "You are quite full of mystery, Sailor  
Chibi-Star," she breathed softly, kneeling before the girl and   
producing a wet compress in one hand. Pressing it to the child's   
sweaty, feverish brow, she smiled slightly. "And I am sorry that I   
have to hurt you..."  
The girl stirred and opened her green eyes slowly. "Hey...Miss   
Doubt...it's okay," she whispered. "I know that you don't want to hurt  
me..."  
She nodded and smoothed the girl's wispy blonde bangs. "You can   
sleep for a while, Celeste," she responded kindly, a bit of remorse in  
her voice. "I'm sure that you will not be missed for a bit."  
Murmuring her weak thanks, the little one curled up in fetal   
position and drifted off to sleep.   
From a corner of the room, two colorless, shapeless eyes watched  
the entire conversation in shock. "Well," came a soft, ageless voice   
that was marred with an amount of evil that defied even description,   
"it seems that Doubt has a motherly side that even I have not yet   
seen." A wicked idea came to his mind, and the Spirit of Silver   
laughed. "Why, if the girl DIES..."  
He didn't finish his sentence.  
************  
  
Neo-Sailor Moon appeared over the city of Crystal Tokyo, her   
brow furrowed and usually bright red eyes lowered. All over, people   
looked up at the night sky to stare, gasp, or run for cover.   
And it was then that the heroine spoke.  
"Raiders!" she announced loudly, voice clear as it echoed across  
the night sky. "We have a bargain for you! Give us back Sailor Chibi-  
Star, and we will hand over both the Imperium Silver Crystal and the   
Galactic Rod to you."  
Shocked, he looked up. He'd come to the park to relax and sort   
out the mystery of Chibi-Star's power, not to listen to the leader of   
the Galactic Sailors call out across the city.  
But he was intrigued by her offer. So Raider Violence listened.  
"Nothing means more to us than that child," the Sailor Scout   
continued, sincerity in her voice. "If you are willing to listen to   
this plea and agree to our deal, meet me at the docks tomorrow at six   
a.m. Bring only the girl and yourselves, Violence and Doubt. We shall   
exchange a child for two artifacts."  
The vision faded, leaving almost all the residents of Tokyo   
perplexed.   
Smiling, Violence stood and brushed off his pants with a gleam   
of triumph in his red eyes. "I shall give you your child," he   
responded, though she could not hear. "And then, you shall parish!"  
************  
  
Her compliments fell on deaf ears.   
"Come on, Diana, you did a really great job with that!" Reeny   
protested as the last few ribbons of her fuku gave way and became a   
Princess gown. "You're way too hard on yourself when it comes to t  
echnology."  
The cat snorted and continued typing on the control panel.   
"Flattery will get you nowhere with me," she retorted. "I didn't angle  
it right."  
"Good!" announced Ambriel, who was standing at Reeny's feet.   
"Good! Angel up?"  
Picking the toddler up and smiling, the short Princess sighed.   
"Well, I thought that you did very well, and so did Ambriel here!"  
With a long sigh, the Guardian jumped from the controls and onto  
her charge's open shoulder. "When will you give up on being everyone's  
sunshine, Reen?" she asked with an irrepressible warm smile.   
The Princess grinned back. "Once I teach Ambry here to be just   
as sunny as I am, I can be a cranky hag like you," she mused, ruffling  
the girl's fuzzy red hair. "Right, kiddo?"  
"Angel sunny!" agreed the little one as they all walked down to   
hall together.   
Moonlight filtered through the skylights as they walked, and   
Reeny felt herself tense as she looked to the sky. "I feel something   
uneasy," she announced suddenly, her heart leaping into her throat. "I  
think that someone might be in big trouble..."  
"Worse than normal?" asked Diana urgently. When her charge   
nodded slightly, the cat dove onto the ground and stared straight up.   
"Then that says it. Go and find out."  
As the pink-haired teen was about to respond, the locket around   
her neck warmed suddenly up and she knew what was coming. "A battle."   
She placed Ambriel carefully onto the floor and winked gingerly. "Take  
good care of my little angel, okay?"  
The Guardian nodded and stepped back, pulling the child by the   
skirt with her. "Good luck."  
Nodding, she lifted the locket above her head. "Moon Galactic   
Power... Make Up!"  
************  
  
Sailor Aurora Borealis dove away as the ice shards flew toward   
her. "A monster?" she breathed, staring at the creature before her.   
"How unlike the Raiders!"  
Indeed, it was a large, pale-blue monster, and it appeared to be  
made of some mixture of ice and snow. Roaring, it threw a few dozen   
more ice spears at its Sailor-suited opponent, nearly hitting her. She  
rolled quickly out of harm's way and cleared her throat.  
"I am the Sailor of Light!" she announced, hopping atop a park   
bench. "Invited by a new age, I fight for justice and love in a pretty  
sailor-suit..." She grimaced. "Damn it, why can't I ever get the   
speech right?" she swore, scratching the side of her head idly. "Oh   
well." Aurora Borealis glared at the monster, chestnut eyes filled   
with hate. "You're toast, you hear me? Absolute toast!"  
"In the name of Phoenix..."  
"And in the name of the Comets..."  
Two Sailors jumped down from the nearest tree and glared at the   
monster. "Please don't force us to finish," muttered the blue-haired   
Scout, receiving an elbow in her stomach from the brunette.  
"ICE!" screamed the creature, tossing more ice shards at the   
group.  
Sailor Phoenix sent out a stream of her hot fire and steam,  
melting the crystals with little trouble. "Is that the best you've   
got?"  
Closing her eyes, Sailor Comet took in a deep breath. "Comet   
Crater..."  
"Aurora Borealis..." added in the last girl.  
"CLOSE!"  
"SHINING!"  
The two attacks flew quickly toward the ice monster, who somehow  
managed to evade the attacks expertly. The three Scouts went bug-eyed   
at this maneuver, but the creature didn't seem to notice and continued  
his icy assault.  
After only about five minutes of battle, both Phoenix and Aurora  
Borealis were pinned to the ground, razor-sharp icicles cutting   
through their skirts and attaching to the slightly dampened grass.   
Both struggled with all their strength, but the ice shards were   
obviously very deep into the ground and wouldn't budge.  
Aurora Borealis grunted as her fifth attempt to free herself   
failed miserably. "Comet, you're on your own this time around!" she   
called to the shorthaired Scout as she lay on the cold snow-covered   
grass. "We're stuck..."  
"She's right," put in Phoenix, wiggling as she spoke. "Good   
luck!"  
Sailor Comet, who was crouched in a nearby tree as the ice   
monster loomed over her two friends, sighed and dropped her head. What  
a way to go...eaten for lunch by a giant ice cube.  
Suddenly, a silhouette appeared on the top of a garbage can.   
"You give popsicles a bad name!" called the figure loudly, hopping   
into a tiny patch of moonlight. "And on behalf of the Moon, you're   
punished!"  
Sailor Moon drew her Galactic Rod from null-space and lowered   
her red eyes at the creature. "Any last words?" she inquired.  
"ICE!" screamed the monster, throwing a handful of ice shards at  
the heroine. "ICE!"  
"EEEK!" Sailor Moon yelped, diving out of the way and landing   
face-first in a pile of rather dirty snow. "What the Hell was that?"  
Comet jumped down from her perch and rolled a pair of teal eyes.  
"His attack," she responded coolly, offering forth a hand to help her   
leader up. "Now, could you PLEASE dust him?"  
"GALACTIC SHOWER!" announced Moon, waving her Rod around in the   
air as she screamed.  
The ice monster, as had so many monsters long before him,   
shrieked and shriveled to moon dust.  
As the ice disappeared, Phoenix and Aurora Borealis both   
clambered to their feet, relieved looks on their faces. "Thanks,   
Sailor Moon," breathed the blue-haired Scout with a shudder. "We were   
almost toast."  
"I don't get it," thought Comet aloud, chewing on her lower lip   
as the pile of dust began to fade into nothingness. "That's not like   
the Raiders at all."  
"Yeah," agreed Aurora Borealis, knitting her eyebrows together.   
"I wonder why they did that..."  
Shivering, Phoenix glanced up at the sky and sighed. "I think it  
may have been a distraction of sorts," she commented softly, staring   
at the moon with a thoughtful expression on her face. "I have a   
strange feeling about all this..."  
************  
  
"Celeste!"   
The only response to the urgent cry was a blood-curdling scream   
that echoed through the Starship. Doubt froze in her tracks, trying   
desperately to ignore the suddenly urge to fall to her knees in grief.  
Something was happening to that little girl.  
As she ran blindly down the long halls of the Starship, the   
white-haired Raider allowed many foreign emotions to course through   
her veins. Such as fear. Never before had she been so afraid in her   
entire life.  
Turning the sharp corner toward the Chamber of Spirits, she felt  
her senses go wild. She could feel fear, someone else's fear, and   
another shriek sounded, closer. Her feet had taken on a mind of their   
own as she ran, hoping and also fearing what she was about to find.  
Doubt threw open the doors to the large, black chamber to find   
the Spirit of Silver looming over the little blonde girl. There was   
blood matted on in the girl's hair, and the Raider felt her knees   
tremble as she stared at where the girl lay. What had he done?  
"You... You monster..." she breathed, feeling tears come into   
her dark eyes. "We could have obtained the Imperium Silver Crystal   
with that child..." Her voice wavered, and she felt a lump come into   
her throat as she stared hatefully at the shimmering form. "Why did   
you do such a thing?"  
The Spirit looked at her, a vacant glance that did nothing to   
convince her of his motives. "I did it because you are weak," he shot,  
deadpan. With that, he faded into the dark.  
A soft moan escaped the child's lips, and Doubt sunk to her   
knees without thinking. "Celeste?" she breathed, feeling herself shake  
as she wiped some of the sticky blood off the girl's forehead. "Are   
you alright?"  
"What...what...happened..." attempted the girl, her voice barely  
above a whisper. Her Sailor fuku was slight tattered and blood spotted  
some of the bodysuit. "All...I...remember... I remember...pain..." she  
stammered, green eyes gazing upward. They were full of unshed tears   
and also dull with fear and hurt. "Did...he...hurt...me?"  
Nodding, the woman lightly ran her index finger over a   
relatively deep gash on the girl's brow. She needed stitches at the   
very least... "I don't know how," she responded, her tone soothing,   
"but he did. You have a very bad cut on your..."  
"...forehead..." finished the Sailor Scout, closing her eyes   
slowly. "I want to...go...home..." she whispered, barely audible.  
Violence and the Raider King both then appeared in the room,   
eyes wide with disbelief as they viewed the scene. "What in the   
Andromeda..." The King trailed off, a deep glare in his dark eyes.  
Pretending not to hear, Doubt cupped the little girl's cheek in   
one of her hands. "Soon enough," she whispered back before standing up  
and facing the others.  
************  
  
"My, my," commented Alice dryly, sipping a large thermos of   
coffee as she sat on a large crate, "aren't we feminine today, Mrs.   
Ten'ou?"  
Looking down at her clothing choice, which was a nondescript   
white business shirt with a long navy skirt, the blonde Mistress   
sneered at the teen and in turn sipped her own drink. "Not a morning   
person, I take it?" she inquired in annoyance.   
Michelle snorted and snatched the cup from her mate. "And   
neither are you, dear," she responded casually, taking her own sip,   
letting her blue-green eyes wander over to where Sailor Moon was   
pacing up and down the dock.  
The five other Sailor Scouts and three of the Mistresses sat in   
a small covered area near their pink-haired friend, all nervously   
awaiting the arrival of the Raiders. It was five minutes until six,   
and already the sky was beginning to light up with the pinks and   
purples of dawn.   
They were waiting, in a way, for destiny.  
"I miss Celeste..." sighed Lyra wistfully, looking over at her   
mother. "I'll be glad to get her back and be able to return to a   
normal life."  
Mina smiled sadly and stared at the dawn in silence.  
Chewing on her lower lip, Phoebe furrowed her brows. "I wonder   
if they'll even come," she thought aloud, looking at the others as she  
spoke. "I mean, they are the Raiders and all..."  
Haley smacked the blue-haired Scout upside the head and lowered   
her teal eyes to a fierce glare. "Don't say stuff like that!" she   
shot, annoyed. "You'll curse us!"  
"You can't curse people just by saying silly things like that,"   
chortled Alexandra, seizing back her mug of coffee from her wife.   
"You're just mad because you have the same exact feelings in your own   
stomach."  
A wave of nausea hit Tara as she listened to the conversation,   
and her knees buckled, causing her to grab onto the nearest crate.   
"Evil energy..." she breathed, eyes falling shut.  
No one heard her.  
"Mom, I don't think that!" shot back Haley, a disgusted look on   
her face. "I'm just as big a part of this Scout team as they are! I'd   
never think a thing like that!"  
The aqua-haired woman smiled, shaking her head a bit. "Being a   
good Scout," she informed her daughter, "doesn't mean being doubt-  
free. It means understanding your weaknesses and using them." She once  
again took Alex's mug.  
With a slight laugh, Alice threw her hair haughtily behind her.   
"Unless, of course, you don't have any faults. Like me."  
Turning on the smug girl, the blonde Mistress lowered her green   
eyes. "Throw your hair around and talk like that again," she growled   
in a throaty tone, "and you will no longer have hair to toss about."   
Snatching her mug back from the musician, she made a face. "Get your   
own damn coffee."  
Tara stomped one of her feet, her wooden sandal making a loud   
clapping sound as she did so. "I sense evil energy!" she announced a   
bit loudly. "The Raiders are here, but they're not coming out of   
hiding..." She shivered. "I don't understand it..."  
Alice muttered something about "bogus Shinto powers" under her   
breath, warranting a glare from the young priestess.   
In the distance, Sailor Moon continued to pace until, after long  
minutes, the two Raiders appeared, Celeste cradled in Doubt's arms.  
Bristling, Mina whirled around and looked to the group. "The   
deal was that we transform as soon as they get here," she reminded   
everyone, drawing out her string of beads. "You ready?"  
"When you are," put in Lyra, speaking for the entire group.   
Five lockets flashed in the growing sunlight as they were raised into  
the air. Three sets of glass beads sparkled as they found their ways   
off wrists and into the space above their owner's heads. A dead   
silence filled the air, followed closely by words that meant more than  
life to the speakers.  
"Earth Galactic Power..."  
"Polaris Galactic Power..."  
"Phoenix Galactic Power..."  
"Aurora Borealis Galactic Power..."  
"Comet Galactic Power..."  
"Venus Eternal Power..."  
"Uranus Eternal Power..."  
"Neptune Eternal Power..."  
"MAKE UP!"  
************  
  
Doubt looked down at the girl. She was conscious, but hardly,   
and her chest hardly rose and fell noticeably. The child was in awful   
shape and the Raider didn't know what she could do about it.  
"Sailor Moon, please," she attempted softly, still staring down   
at her little blonde-haired charge. "Let's get this over with. Chibi-  
Star is not in good condition..."  
The Sailor Scout's red eyes went wide with fear and distrust as   
she glanced at the young girl. "What have you done, you monster?" she   
shot, rushing forward to claim the child. "Give her here!"  
She was halted by a strong arm. "Give us the crystal and the Rod  
now, Sailor girl," demanded the other Raider.  
Glaring at Violence, Moon haughtily crossed her arms and stuck   
her nose in the air. "You're not getting anything until you give me   
the girl."  
"You're stalling!" he accused her angrily.  
The Scout shrugged. "So what if I am?" she inquired. "I have   
something that you want and can have--if you play your cards right.   
You have something that I want and that I can TAKE if I feel like it."  
She winked. "It's all relative."  
Doubt restrained the man from throttling Sailor Moon right then   
and there. "We don't have time to play games, Moon girl," she spat,   
annoyed. "Your little friend doesn't have time." There was an odd   
amount of sincerity in her voice, making Sailor Moon shiver a bit. Was  
all she said true? It seemed as so.  
"Fine." The teen closed her eyes and the Imperium Silver Crystal  
materialized between her outstretched palms. Slowly, the crystal   
became a small pedant and a sparkling gold chain attached itself to   
the glittering orb. Opening the twin red eyes, Sailor Moon willed the   
necklace to float. "In necklace form, it will be portable and safe   
from all harm."   
Violence crossed his arms and glared at the Scout. "And the   
Rod," he prompted, anger in his voice.  
Glancing quickly around, Sailor Moon took a deep breath. "The   
Galactic Rod." Taking a deep breath, she drew the long Rod out of   
null-space and looked at it. Decorated with hearts, moons, and stars,   
it was beautiful in the dawn's pale light. The sun accentuated the   
gold of the moon, the silver of the stars, the pink of the hearts, and  
the white marble of the Rod itself. Letting her breath out slowly, she  
held it out to the man. "Artifacts for a life," she breathed, heart   
beating faster than humanly possible.  
As Violence reached forward to claim his prize, Doubt placed the  
barely conscious child Sailor Moon's arms. "You won't regret this,"   
came the soft comment from the female Raider. "I know that all seems   
lost right now, but everything will work out perfectly fine in the   
end."  
"That it will," responded Sailor Moon.   
"Phoenix Heat...Flashing!"  
A stream of steam and liquid fire flew forth and fixed itself   
around Violence's fist, forcing him to drop the Rod. It dropped to the  
ground and cracked into two pieces, multi-colored stardust flying into  
the air.  
Nearly dropping Celeste, Sailor Moon dropped to her knees before  
the Rod. Mistress Venus and Sailor Polaris jumped down from the roof   
of a nearby warehouse, landing on either side of the Scout. "The   
Galactic Rod..." whispered the pink-haired heroine, her words catching  
in the back of her throat.  
Taking her daughter from the girl, Venus lowered her blue eyes   
toward the Raiders. "What kind of monsters are you?" she asked,   
fingers tracing the gash along Celeste's forehead. "She's just a   
little girl..."  
Doubt bowed a little toward the woman. "I tried to keep him from  
hurting her," she breathed softly, a tear tracing down her cheek. "But,  
if you hurry, she can live."  
Mistress Venus nodded and jumped high into the air, leaving   
Polaris and Moon alone with the two Raiders.  
Nursing his wound, the male Raider wrinkled his nose. "You will   
not live to see tomorrow, you Sailor Brats."  
"You're the ones who shouldn't live," shot Sailor Moon, still   
stooped over the broken Rod. "You are a beast. Not human." With a wave  
of her hand, the Imperium Silver Crystal and the chain fell around her  
neck and hung limply to her chest. "And you will die."  
Promptly blinking out of existence, Doubt left Violence alone to  
fight.  
Four more Sailor Scouts and two Mistresses--one in gold and one   
in aqua--jumped down from the rooftop, their eyes lowered toward the   
man. "You're toast," put in Uranus, breaking the silence.  
"Ahh, so it's finally time for a showdown?" inquired the Raider,  
drawing his sword. Slowly, he brought it to rest near Sailor Moon's   
neck. "You move, and she dies."  
Picking up her head, the young woman took one part of the Rod in  
each of her hands and stared directly into the man's red eyes. "You've  
done quite a few low things, Violence," she told him in a shaky tone.   
"And I am no longer prepared to deal with it."  
She rose slowly, the sword falling to point at her chest and   
staying there as she continued to speak. "Agent for love and justice,   
I am a pretty Sailor-suited heroine, Sailor Moon. On behalf of the   
Moon, I will punish you."  
A pure white light burst from the crystal around her neck and   
somehow wrapped itself around the Galactic Rod. Slowly, Sailor Moon   
drew the two halves of the Rod toward one another until they touched.   
Suddenly, and without mortal means, the light flared up and encased   
everyone in it.  
When the light died down, Sailor Moon was no longer her Scout   
stuff but she was Princess Serenity. A perfectly golden crescent moon   
was upon her forehead as she stood, clad in her gold-trimmed silver   
Princess gown. Slowly opening her red eyes, she looked down at the   
weapon in her hands.  
The Rod was once again one.  
"DIE!" screamed Violence suddenly, his sword suddenly glowing.   
"DIE!"  
A beam of red light erupted from the sword and flew toward the   
Princess' chest.  
"Neptune POWER!"  
"Uranus POWER!"  
The beam disappeared, and all eyes turned to the two adult women  
who stood proudly on either side of the line of Scouts. "You have done  
things," said Neptune, "that defy description." She smiled a bit. "And  
no longer will you be able to do such a thing."  
"Have a fun time in Hell," winked Uranus. "Princess, I believe   
that it's your turn."  
Raising the Rod above her head, the young woman closed her eyes.  
"Everyone, lend me your powers," she begged, voice hardly above a   
whisper. "Please..."  
"Earth Power..." A beam of light green light flew toward the   
Princess.  
"Polaris Power..." Golden light fused with green.  
"Phoenix Power..." Crimson light joined the mix.  
"Aurora Borealis Power..." Added was lavender light.  
"Comet Power..." The last beam, silver in color, united with the  
other four and flew into the Galactic Rod.  
Red eyes flew open. "Galactic Shower!"   
And, when the colorful motley of dust faded away, Violence was   
no more.  
************  
  
"Ugh..." Making a face, Celeste spooned more macaroni and cheese  
into her mouth. "I don't know what happened, but I'm really glad that   
it's over."  
Five of the six Galactic Sailors sat around the little girl's   
hospital bed, Mina overseeing the entire goings on. Her prognosis had   
been rather simple--a mild concussion, twenty-eight stitches for her   
cut, and bed rest for severe fatigue and dehydration--but the visitors   
to the girl had never before been so relieved and happy.   
Phoebe winked. "Well, I'm sure that my mother took great care of  
you, kiddo." Standing slowly, she grabbed Haley by the wrist. "But we   
have a really big Music Theory project due the day we get back to   
school and haven't yet started it."  
"So?" inquired Haley, sarcasm in her voice. "I don't want to   
study Brahams any more that I want a hole in my head!" She made a   
gagging gesture.  
The blue haired teen proceeded to drag her friend out of the   
room. "And if you flunk the class," she reminded the other music   
student, "Michelle will be sure to give you one!"  
As they left, Tara rose. "Much in the same manner, I have to   
return to the temple." She cast a cold glare at Alice. "I'm going to   
practice fire reading."  
The auburn haired girl shrugged and hopped to her feet. "Got to   
go put in my time at the restaurant," she sighed, hanging her head. "I  
hate waitressing."   
Once the room was empty, Celeste looked nervously at her mother   
and eldest sister. They were being oddly silent, staring at one   
another but not saying anything.   
"Come on!" she whined, pouting. "What's crawled into your   
respective pants and died?" Leaning back in her bed, the little girl   
sighed. "Mom, say what you need to say to Lyra. Lyra, do the same."   
She winked a lively green eye. "Don't think that I'm clueless."  
Clearing her throat, Mina smiled sadly and glanced out the   
window. "I'm sorry, Lyra," she breathed, hardly audible.  
"As am I," responded the teen, a delighted smile crossing her   
face. "Does that mean you're not mad?"  
"I'm not mad," replied her mother solemnly. "But I still don't   
like that boy very much."  
************  
  
Galactic Sailor... error 552 The RAIDERS Say!  
  
Doubt: (appearing) Evil is a fun pastime.  
  
(Clips of the Raiders doing evil things, take your pick which)  
  
Greed: (appearing) But being evil doesn't always pay off.  
  
(Clip of Doubt cradling the injured Celeste.)  
  
Doubt: (confused) Hey, you're dead!  
  
Greed: (defensively) This is a Sailor Says, Doubt. Anything you want   
can happen in a Sailor Says.  
  
(Sixty-five monkeys appear and form a kick-line across the stage that   
the Raiders are standing on)  
  
Greed: (loudly, so not to be drowned out by the Can Can) SEE?  
  
(Doubt snaps her fingers and the monkeys fade into nothingness)  
  
Doubt: (rolling her eyes) You haven't changed a bit after four stories  
of being dead.  
  
Greed: (winking) It's a gift!  
  
Illness: (appearing) Evil is fun.  
  
(Clip of him blowing up a large building)  
  
Illness: It can make you money.  
  
(Clip of him bathing in a bathtub full of money)  
  
Illness: And it can make you happy!  
  
(Clip of him surrounded by scantly-clothed women while sipping a large  
glass of champagne.)  
  
Greed: (curiously) Isn't Sailor Says supposed to be moralistic and   
stuff like that?   
  
(The other two glare daggers at her, and she blinks out of existence,   
a frame of a super-deformed Greed sticking out her tongue directly   
following her departure.)  
  
Doubt + Illness: So, the Raiders say...  
  
Illness: Evil is cool...  
  
(A super-deformed Greed runs on stage, carrying a big 'Go Sailor   
Scouts' sign above her head. The brown-robed Raider takes one look at   
her and chases her off-stage.)  
  
Doubt: (faking a smile) Well, see ya!  
  
--The End--  
  
-I Know-  
Look around...  
(Tara, sitting next to Queen Serenity, stares up at the night sky)  
So many things aren't clear...  
(Phoebe looks blankly at a math book)  
Don't worry, though...  
(Lyra smiles while picking up her tuba)  
You know that I'll be there...  
(Sailor Pluto and Haley smile knowingly at each other)  
A lot of things are so uncertain...  
(Alice looks sadly at a clock while the sun sets over Crystal Tokyo)  
The future's on its way...  
(Reeny holds the Locket of the Moon, smiling)  
Look at my crying eyes...  
(Luna and Artemis console an upset Diana)  
Don't take your love away!  
(Hannah sighs, looking at a sleeping Haley)  
  
Sometimes, the road looks long...  
(Mina looks at her children with Andrew behind her)  
And sometimes, the world seems wrong...  
(Alex and Michelle smile at one another and then blush deeply)  
But I know, I know, all you need is love.  
(The six girls, untransformed, hold their lockets high)  
  
Sometimes, you feel weak...  
(Lita smoothes the hair of a crying Alice)  
And sometimes, the future looks bleak...  
(Raye and Chad stand behind Tara, who is staring at her locket)  
But I know, I know, all you need is love.  
(The six Galactic Sailors stand in a half circle)  
  
Times will change...  
(Amy looks out of a window and at Crystal Palace)  
People will change, too...  
(Endymion looks at Serenity, who is pouring over a book)  
But deep inside...  
(Lyra hugs Celeste)  
I always will love you...  
(Diana falls asleep on Reeny's lap)  
I suppose there are questions now...  
(Alice and Phoebe stare blankly at one another)  
The answers are so far...  
(Michelle stands in front of the orchestra, talking)  
But look at me and smile now...  
(Tara lovingly hugs her father)  
I am your guiding star!  
(Haley smiles at a studying Hannah)  
  
Sometimes, the road looks long...  
(Mina looks at her children with Andrew behind her)  
And sometimes, the world seems wrong...  
(Alex and Michelle smile at one another and then blush deeply)  
But I know, I know, all you need is love.  
(The six girls, untransformed, hold their lockets high)  
  
Sometimes, you feel weak...  
(Lita smoothes the hair of a crying Alice)  
And sometimes, the future looks bleak...  
(Raye and Chad stand behind Tara, who is staring at her locket)  
But I know, I know, all you need is love.  
(The six Galactic Sailors stand in a half circle)  
  
I know...  
(The Planet Mistresses stand in a circle)  
I know...  
(The Galactic Sailors stand in a circle)  
All you need is love...  
(The Mistresses and Sailors all stand together, holding hands, with   
their eyes closed)  
All you need...is...love...  
(A single purple rose sits in a vase)  
  
************  
  
If you're actually reading this, then I'm adding the following plug:  
  
Read "Tis the Season"! It's under the name Andrea Readwolf and was   
written by me (Kate) and Andrea! We want you to read it! We will hunt   
you down!  
  
::clears throat:: Story 10 will be next. I think you'll like it.  
  
Till then, we remain:  
  
Kate and Christina, heroines, writers, and shop-a-holics!  
  
  
  



	10. Starlight, Star Bright, Star Princess

Starlight, Star Bright, Star Princess  
  
Author's Ramblings: Hello today! There has been a consensus that Galactic   
Gals is not interesting enough. Therefore, it has been turned into a   
soap opera. In today's episode, we find the answers to many questions.  
The most vexing question answered is why is Greg able to Sailor   
Teleport. This question is answered when we find out that Greg is   
really a woman--and a Sailor Scout called Sailor Sun, at that. And who  
is Phoebe's father? Why, Mercurious, of course! Greg--or shall we say   
Gregina--is only a better-looking front. Amy has kept Mercurious   
hidden in the linen closet for all these years. We also find out   
Terrence's "dark secret". He is really a leftover minion of Queen   
Beryl named Brainite--Judge Brainite, to be exact. Will the Gals find   
out about Terrence in time to save Crystal Tokyo? Do you really want   
to read this story now that you know the basic plot? And most   
importantly, will Phoebe need major counseling? Read on...  
eih;agnher...HELP!...error... ::the writer, a teen with kinda dark   
brown hair, falls to the floor, laughing while being dragged away by a  
troop of super-deformed SuperKates::  
  
Whew! Finally got her off the computer! That was Ginnie, ladies and   
gentlemen, and this is our turn to assure you--and we mean it--that   
this story's plot is absolutely nothing like she thinks it is.   
Mercurious does not live in the Urawa's linen closet, Terrence has no   
deep dark secret, and Phoebe will not go into counseling. However, we   
do thank Ginnie for taking the time out of her busy schedule to write   
an author's note. But here's the bad news:  
  
This episode is one pre-used SM cliché after another. You think we're   
kidding? Well, we're not. Sure, a lot of the plot does become clearer   
in this story, but it's all been done. We hope you don't kill us, cut   
out our innards, and use them to decorate your lawn.   
  
Enjoy!  
************  
What Happened Last Time?  
  
There was a Meeting of the Mistresses. Lyra and Mina had a   
fight over Richard. Mina had a fight with Molly over Richard. Celeste  
was rescued. Violence died. We found out that Doubt has a motherly   
side.  
  
And that, my friends, is where the story begins...  
************  
  
A warm, soft breeze blew through the summer air as she opened   
her two green eyes. How long had she been sleeping? She did not know.  
All around were flowers. Marvelously colored flowers. Blues,   
pinks, yellows, and purples, all that defied human description spread   
about her, and she stretched before standing on tired legs. She had   
been asleep for so long... She vaguely recalled falling into her   
slumber, her body giving slowly up on life as the world around her was  
destroyed. What had happened since then?  
It was then that the voice came into her head. It had come only   
once before, telepathically as it this time did, and it had told her   
to sleep. It had told her that she would someday awaken and find the   
truth.  
Whatever that was.  
The time has come, it told her, to awaken and find her.  
"Who?" she asked aloud, still stretching and trying to come to   
her complete senses.   
The Princess.  
"But once before, I tried," she protested loudly, "and I   
failed." She lowered her green eyes at the air, knowing that the   
bearer of the voice was out there, somewhere. Well, the bearer of the   
voice was about to get a piece of her mind, that was for sure. "I   
would much rather remain asleep!"  
Do not question me! shot the voice, tone becoming very   
threatening. You will find the Princess! You will find the girl who   
is to be the Priestess! You will find...  
Snorting, she rolled her eyes. "The Imperium Silver Crystal?"   
she inquired rhetorically, mocking her guide. "Why not just let the   
Princess of the Earth, Serenity, handle the impending doom?"  
The voice was silent for a long moment. Then, it put in,   
Because, if you do not find the Princess, the Prince, the Priestess,   
and the Keeper of the Nebulae, then the world is in grave danger!   
With that, the voice faded away.  
"Why me?" she muttered as multi-colored stardust began to swirl   
around her. She closed her eyes and, when she opened them once again   
and the dust had settled, she found herself standing in a rather large  
park. In the distance, sirens sounded and car horns bleated their loud  
tunes as she sighed to herself.  
"Great," she mumbled as she hopped onto a park bench and laid   
down. "I'm stuck in Crystal Tokyo."  
************  
  
Sticking another piece of jalepeno-flavored soft pretzel in her   
mouth, Haley made a face. "I personally liked that baseball cap!" she   
protested. "You guys are so mean!"  
"Come on, Haley," objected the girl with the blue-hair, dipping   
her almond pretzel into a container of chocolate. "That thing was   
hideous!"  
"Was not!" shot the brunette haughtily. "I thought it was   
stylish!"  
Alice laughed a bit, receiving a stern glare from her two   
friends.   
Phoebe stuck out her tongue. "A plastic construction-worker hat   
would be cuter," she argued loudly, crossing her arms over her chest.   
"You have no sense of style!"  
Rolling her olive-colored eyes, Tara sipped her lemonade slowly.   
"Guys, can we please change the subject?" she inquired softly with   
sigh. The other three teens looked at her as she said this. "What?"  
"Good idea!" announced Alice in an excited voice. "And I have   
just the topic! Our two favorite lovebirds, 'Star' and 'Rich'!"  
The Shinto groaned and hung her head.  
"Lyra and Richard--is theirs a healthy relationship or an   
inappropriate pairing?" The blue haired girl tossed her hair   
flirtatiously. "Let's hear from our first guest, Haley Ten'ou!" She   
held out her straw as a microphone. "Haley, any words?"  
She rolled her teal eyes. "This is stupid," she muttered,   
receiving an elbow in the gut. "I mean," Haley corrected herself   
through gritted teeth, "that, after Mrs. Mokoti's nightmarish   
performance last month, I would think the two would cool it down." She  
winked sweetly. "After all, they're four years apart!"   
Leaning back in her chair, Phoebe smiled. "And what does the   
Sailor Scout of Light have to say about it?" she questioned Alice,   
holding out the straw. "Miss Kino?"  
"It's fine with me," supplied the auburn-haired teen with a   
giggle. "I think they're cute together..." She paused, and wrinkled   
her nose. "Though Richard is kind of a nerd."  
"Like a Prince and Princess!" sighed Phoebe thoughtfully,   
falling out of her 'talk-show host' voice. "Lyra and Richard... I can   
just see them at a ball together..."  
Alice snorted once again. "We already HAVE seen them at a ball,"  
she dryly put in. "Though you're right about the Princess thing..."  
Feeling a premonition come over her, Tara's eyes snapped shut.   
The sounds of her friend's discussion carried over in the background   
as an image appeared to her. There she could see a bright silver light  
illuminating the night sky, coming from some sort of animal...a cat?   
Yes, a cat. Behind the cat stood Lyra, hair flowing free down around   
her shoulders and her body garbed in a purely golden gown that seemed   
to be made of molten stars. Beside her on the left was Richard,   
dressed in a black tuxedo and top hat, and to the right was a young   
blonde girl in a golden Sailor fuku with a long golden staff which was  
as tall as the girl herself. The image then changed to a young woman   
dressed in long white robes, red hair blowing through the air as a   
silver crescent Moon glistened upon her forehead. For the last time   
the image changed, this time to two teens, both dressed in black and   
crimson, standing side-by-side before a marble doorway.  
"Tara... Tara? You alright?" A voice pulled her from the vision.  
Slowly opening her eyes, she shook her head to clear it and found   
herself staring up at Haley. "Tara? Are you okay?"  
Sitting up, she realized that she was on the tile floor of the   
mall's food court, one of her hands in sticky, half-dried soda. "I   
think so," the Shinto girl managed, still a bit disoriented. "What   
happened?"  
The brunette helped her up, Phoebe and Alice standing almost   
uncomfortably close to her. "You passed out," explained the actress,   
shaking her head of braids as she said so. "You were sitting there,   
your eyes closed, and then--WHAMO! You hit the tile!" She reached out   
and put a hand on the younger teen's shoulder. "You sure you're okay?"  
With a nod, Tara sat down in her chair, still shaking a bit from  
the vision. What was that? It hadn't been like the other visions she'd  
had... "I had another premonition," she softly said, voice not above a  
whisper.  
"Not more of this evil stuff!" shot Alice with a groan. "Ever   
since we've killed Violence," she went on even after Haley tried to   
hush her, "you've had all these weird feelings of evil, and none of   
them are ever right. 'Doubt's at the chapel on Oak Street'...'I think   
Doubt's still after Celeste'...'Come on, Scouts! I feel Doubt hanging   
around the video arcade!'" Ducking Phoebe's hand (which was aimed at   
the back of her head), she continued. "It is far one thing to sense   
evil and be right, and it is another..."  
Tara turned on her, eyes becoming a harsh glare. "I didn't sense  
evil this time!" she shot back, almost growling. "I sensed something   
totally different..." Her tone turned thoughtful. "There was this   
woman in white, and Lyra in a golden dress..."  
The other three girls sat down and looked at one another. "Do   
you think we should talk about this?" asked Alice softly, guilt   
sweeping over her.  
With a shrug, Tara stood and flipped her dark braid behind her   
and grabbed her bag from the tea store. "Nah," she commented, taking   
one last swig of her lemonade.  
"Then what do you want to do?" inquired Phoebe as the other   
Scouts as they stood up and walked out of the food court together.  
The raven-haired one considered this. "How about we go to   
Waldenbooks?"  
************  
  
She wandered down a deserted pathway in the park, an annoyed yet  
thoughtful expression on her face.  
"Why me?" she asked herself aloud, hanging her head. "Why   
doesn't that damn voice ever give me any useful advice?" She wrinkled   
her nose. "Find the Princess. Sleep. Find the..." she took in a breath  
through her teeth. "WHY ME?"  
Stopping at the front gate of the park, her green eyes flew to a  
young woman standing in front of a baby store. About sixteen, the girl  
stood between a short blonde woman and an exotic-looking green-haired   
adult who was obviously expecting a baby sometime soon. In the teen's   
arms was a red-haired child of about two years.  
"That girl..." breathed the stranger, her eyes going wide as she  
stared. "She looks just like who I'm looking for..." She studied the   
subject of her commentary with her mouth partially open. "Same face,   
same eyes, same hair..." Her brow furrowed. "Just much younger."  
Dashing out of the park, she stood on the curb and watched as   
the four entered the store. "Just as I thought!" she announced, slowly  
starting across the street. "That girl must be the Priestess!"  
And with that, she dashed into the baby store just before the   
door slammed shut behind her.  
************  
  
"What size does she wear?" inquired Reeny, lifting a giggling   
Ambriel over her head and furrowing her brow as she looked at the   
child's bottom.   
Susan chuckled. "I'd assume 2-toddler," she supplied with a   
mysterious smile, breathing in a deep breath through her nose. As she   
looked around the store, her grin grew wider. She folded her hands   
over her stomach and left the group to wander around.  
The Princess wrinkled her nose and placed the little girl on the  
floor. "How'd she know that?" she asked the blonde handmaiden.   
With an exasperated smile, Lisa glanced around the shop, trying   
to find the appropriate clothing section. "Most the time, children of  
a certain age fit into their appropriate size... Two-year-olds in 2-T,  
three-year-olds in 3-T..." Seeing the confused gleam in the teen's red  
eyes, she shook her head and took the toddler's hand. "Never mind,"   
Lisa sighed. "Come on, I found her section."  
As the threesome started toward the back-most area of the store,  
a salesclerk approached them. "I'm sorry, Miss," she said to Lisa in   
an annoyed tone, "but your cat can't come in here."  
Reeny whipped around, expecting Diana to be at her heels, and   
came face-to-face with a rather scrappy-looking calico. Her fur was   
mostly black, with bands of gold, tan, and cream throughout her fur.   
On her forehead was a bright silver five-pointed star. Looking up at   
them with vividly green, she mewed loudly and proceeded to rub up   
against Ambriel's ankles. "Uhh..." stumbled the teen, red eyes staring  
at the animal in shock.   
The little one leaned forward and stared into the cat's eyes   
with her own gray eyes, exchanging words without talking. "Angel no   
want," breathed the little girl softly, pushing the cat away. "Star   
must have."  
Furrowing her eyebrows, the clerk's eyes went wide as the child   
spoke. "About the cat..."  
"Not ours," supplied Lisa quickly, scooping up the child as she   
said so. "I've never seen it before in my life."  
After mewing once more, the strange animal ran off.  
Walking away from the confused saleslady, the handmaiden lowered  
her voice to a whisper. "What was that?" she inquired, blue eyes full   
of both confusion and fear. "She's never said more than 'Mommy' and   
'angel'."  
For a long moment, Reeny didn't speak. The child had, once, said  
words beyond that. It was almost as though, when the time was right,   
the little girl could say whatever she wanted to... But conversing   
with a strange calico cat that materialized out of nowhere to follow   
them around? A freak incident. That's all it could be. Just a freaky   
occurrence.  
As Susan neared them, a sad smile on her face, the Princess   
sighed and shrugged noncommittally. "I don't think it was anything..."  
she responded softly so that their third companion couldn't hear.  
But in her heart, she knew that she was lying.  
************  
  
"Damn," she muttered, shaking her head. "Who'd have thought the   
stupid Priestess would be so smart already?"  
The wind ruffled her hair as she looked down on Crystal Tokyo   
from her perch atop a rather large metropolitan apartment complex.   
With a sigh, she hung her head and studied the surface of the roof.   
How had the Priestess known what she wanted? Was it really that   
obvious?  
The Princess and the Keeper of the Nebulae were near. She could   
feel it within her bones. And the Prince was further away, but out   
there, nonetheless. She would find them and make that damn voice   
happy.  
And then, she would return to her nice little grove of flowers   
and be happy for once in her life.  
Below, her green eyes caught onto an odd sight--a young girl, no  
older than six, walking down the sidewalk with a blonde teen and two   
cats. One of the animals was pink, and the other was a white and   
orange bicolor. Gold flashed as they entered a particularly sunny   
patch of the street, and she caught the shapes that sparkled off their  
foreheads.  
Twin crescent moons.  
"Shit!" she swore, kicking at a little stone in frustration.   
"Orb and Diana! Just what I wanted to deal with!" Turning her back on   
the street, she tossed her head. "I've heard about those two, and I've  
had officially enough of this! I'm going home!"  
Find the Princess, came the voice.  
"Shut up!" she roared, emotions unknown to her surfacing. "I   
will not find the damn Princess!"  
Yes, you will! Pain shot through her, and she fell on her   
side, feet going numb suddenly.  
Standing, she let out a long breath. "Okay, okay," she sighed,   
closing her eyes lightly. "I'll find your stupid Princess..."  
The voice quieted for a brief moment. Thank you, it finally   
said, quite softly.  
She sneered. "Well, you're NOT welcome!" she shot before hopping  
onto the next rooftop and starting on her way.  
************  
  
Orb froze in mid-step, suddenly staring upward. "Do you ever get  
the distinct impression we're being watched?" he inquired of the   
others in a soft voice, eyebrows knitting together. Hazel eyes half-  
closed, he studied the rooftop. There'd been a flash of silver on that  
roof, he just KNEW it. The glimmer had been just enough to catch his   
attention, and the cat was quite certain that his instincts were right  
this time. The foursome was being watched.  
"Come on, now," sighed Diana, shaking her head as her brother   
gazed at the top of the apartment building. "Who would be watching us   
from so high up?"  
Celeste considered this. "The Starlit Prince?"  
Laughing, her older sister ruffled one of the corn-colored   
pigtails. "Silly girl," she commented in a serious tone. "No one was   
watching us..."  
"But it was silver," Orb protested, eyes still fixed on the   
building-top. "And you know the legend..."  
"What legend?" asked Lyra, confused. She too looked up to the   
sky, seeing no silver light or watchful eyes.   
Sitting on his haunches, Orb smiled slightly. "There is a legend  
that says there are four powerful kingdoms that still live, though   
they were at their peaks during the Silver Millennium. They are the   
Gold Moon, the Silver Moon, the Silver Star and the Gold Star."   
The two Sailor Scouts looked at one another, exchanging confused   
glances. Why did that sound so familiar?  
He continued. "The Gold Moon was, of course, Serenity and her   
court," Orb stated without emotion. "I'm not going to go into detail   
with this one, because we've all heard far enough about it."  
"You're telling me," muttered the pink cat under her breath.  
Orb rolled his eyes. "The Silver Moon was a kingdom of priests   
and priestesses who were sort of like story tellers... Taught by the   
Angel of the Moon, Ambriel."  
"AMBRIEL?" The three others looked at him in disbelief as his   
sentence closed. "She's the head of some sort of priesthood?" inquired   
Diana, red eyes large. "Why do you just now mention this?"  
"Cool your jets," put in Celeste thoughtfully. "He's not done   
yet." She crouched down and patted the Moon Cat's head. "What's the   
Silver Star stand for?" she questioned him softly. "It sounds very   
familiar..."  
He paused for a long moment, eyes turning very sad. "The Silver   
Star is the Star Kingdom. It was ruled by two best friends, each   
married and expecting children." He sighed, hanging his head for a   
long moment. "They were to be the Prince and Princess of the Stars but  
never were able to be born."  
"Why not?" Lyra shivered as she spoke. Something about the   
entire story hit a soft spot in her heart, and she couldn't shake it.  
"The Silver Millennium ended," Orb finally finished. "Three days  
before the children were born. The Guardian spirit of the Star   
Kingdom--Orion--was able to save both children, but not both rulers.   
The mother of the Prince was salvaged..." He gulped. "As was the   
father of the Princess. And they were to be reborn, but if they were   
in the thirtieth century..." He shook his head. "I don't know the rest  
of the story, but there's talk of a Keeper of the Nebulae also. She   
was to be the ruler of the Gold Star. But there is little known   
information on the Gold Star and..." He trailed off, standing as he   
did so.   
Both girls were in shock from the story. Gold Star...Silver   
Star... Where had they heard that before? Celeste wrapped her arms   
around Lyra's legs and buried her head in the teen's sweatshirt as   
they stood on the sidewalk for a long moment. It hit home for some   
reason... It felt so very familiar...  
Diana sighed. "I don't know how this all relates," she said in a  
rather dry tone, "but you two do stand for the Stars. Perhaps it has   
something to do with you."  
"I sure hope not," choked the little girl, voice muffled because  
of the shirt. "I don't want to be dead!"  
Snorting, Orb hopped onto the child's shoulder. "If you were the  
Princess, little one, then perhaps you wouldn't be dead..."  
'The mother of the Prince was saved...'  
Lyra shuddered as the words came back.  
'As was the father of the Princess...'  
She shook her head, trying to clear it.  
'The father of the Princess...'  
Her knees trembled.  
'The Princess...'  
A child reborn in the thirtieth century? What would it mean?  
'Princess...'  
A scream interrupted her thoughts, and she snapped to a quick   
attention. Both cats were back on the sidewalk now, staring at each   
other as a laugh sounded at the end of the street.  
"Got you now, Sailors!" screamed Doubt, a wicked smile on her   
face. "Come out, come out, where ever you are!"  
Rolling brown eyes, Lyra grabbed a very alarmed Celeste by the   
wrist. "Let's go!"  
"But..."  
"Now!"  
************  
  
She'd heard it. The scream echoed through the Tokyo air, cutting  
the relative silence of the park like a knife.  
"Great," she mumbled, stretching and clambering to her feet.   
"Just what I needed... A monster roaming the streets."  
Then, a wicked idea hit her. Where there was a monster, there   
were Galactic Sailor Scouts. And where there were Sailor Scouts, there  
was the Starlit Prince. And where there was the Prince, there was...  
The Princess.  
Find her! screamed the voice suddenly, terrifying her out of   
her wits as she ran down the path toward the gates. Get the Princess!  
"Who the Hell are you, anyway?" she huffed, dashing toward the   
street with reckless abandon.   
The voice seemed to grow more tried as she did... A friend, it  
said.  
"Well, I'm glad that I have at least one." She smiled faintly   
before continuing her mad chase toward the source of the shriek.  
************  
  
Sighing, Alice rested her elbows on her knees. "It's been a   
really long day," she commented, yawning a bit as she said so. "I   
can't wait to get home and collapse on the couch in front of the TV."  
"I can't wait to try on my new clothes," put in Phoebe, pulling   
a bright yellow sweater with blue trim from her shopping bag. "My   
mother would flip if she knew I bought this!" she giggled with a grin.  
"But it just...called...to me..."  
Haley snorted. "Yeah, it said: 'Help! Help! I'm an ugly   
sweater!'" She received a well-meant blow to the back of her head with  
said sweater and laughed aloud.   
The Shinto, who was leaning against one of the fake trees in the  
mall, let out a long sigh. That vision was still bothering her. What   
did it mean? Her mother had once told her of all the different signs   
that could appear in premonitions, but none really applied to this. It  
wasn't a vision of doom, destruction, or hate--it had been, after all,  
almost beautiful in nature.  
Suddenly, she saw it again in her half-closed eyelids. A tiny,   
scrappy cat with silver light emitting from its forehead. Closing her   
eyes completely, she concentrated on the image. The silver light   
became a definite shape as she stared at it, and the shape was a   
five-pointed star. She felt a hand on her arm and the image faded as   
quickly as it had come.  
"You alright?" Phoebe asked urgently, looking at her friend as   
the green eyes flew open. "You were starting to sway again..." Her   
voice became very concerned as she lowered it. "We've got a locket   
alert, too," she whispered under her breath. "Haley says that it's   
coming from Market Street."  
This jarred Tara completely awake. "That's where Reeny went   
shopping today!" she announced nervously, her hands flying into her   
purse as she searched for the Locket of the Earth.   
"We," mumbled Alice as she pulled out her own locket, "should   
really invest in communicators."  
With that one last comment, the Galactic Sailors bolted toward   
the nearest bathroom.  
************  
  
Never before had she seen anything like it.  
Not the monster, of course. No, she'd seen hundreds of monsters   
before, and this one was no cut above the rest. It was a good ten feet  
tall and oozing a greenish-blue slime as it threw what looked to be   
soccer-ball-sized chunks of hail at the nearby civilians. That didn't   
scare her at all.  
But the woman behind it did.   
She was obviously young, with a shapely body accentuated by a   
skin-tight gray dress that shimmered with each movement. Her white   
hair flowed far past her waist, to nearly her knees, and was bound at   
the nape of her neck by a single black ribbon. A few of the snow-  
colored tresses strayed into nearly black eyes, and her wine-colored   
lips were parted in an evil sneer as she directed her creature where   
to go. Whoever this woman was, she was evil. Very evil.  
Find the Princess! returned the voice. And do not worry about  
the Raider!  
Cowering behind a small piney bush, she made no attempt to move.  
"Raider?" Her green eyes flew toward the devious-looking woman before   
her. "Is that what they call her?"  
Raider Doubt, responded the voice casually. The meanest thing  
I have yet to go up against in all my years. It paused, as though the  
speaker could see the monster and its keeper. The Raider has a soft   
spot for Sailor Chibi-Star and will, it continued, not dare to harm   
her.  
"Chibi-Star?" she breathed, incredulous. "Is that the child?"  
That, came the response, it is.  
She smiled. Soon enough, all would fall into place, and she   
could go back where she belonged.   
Home.  
************  
  
Her monster through more hail at the innocents that surrounded   
them. Doubt laughed, her eyebrows arched evilly. "Come, Sailor   
Scouts!" she announced loudly, her voice carrying through the air as   
she spoke. "Feel my wrath!"  
Leaning against the rough brick wall of the alleyway, Sailor   
Polaris gritted her teeth nervously. "When are the others going to get  
here?" she asked, clenching her fists as she glanced at the Raider   
through silted eyes.   
"I don't want to wait too long." Celeste peeked slowly around   
the corner to where the Raider stood, commanding her monster. "What   
happens if the cretin hurts somebody?" She lowered her green eyes   
slowly, breaths becoming ragged. "When I get my hands on that woman, I  
swear..."  
There was a sudden flash of bright silver light, followed by the  
appearance of a tiny calico cat. "Do as I say," it commanded in a   
throaty tone, glaring its forest-colored eyes, "and don't argue with   
me!"   
The girls stared in shock at the animal, neither knowing exactly  
what to say. There was more light illuminating the alley--odd tints of  
both silver and gold light that flickered on and off a few times in   
rapid succession before disappearing into nothingness. Gasping, Sailor  
Polaris felt her knees tremble as the colors died down.   
"Attack that woman for all it's worth!" the animal shot, seeing   
that the girls were really not listening to her ranting. "Ignore the   
monster, and KILL THE RAIDER!"  
"You...talk..." managed Chibi-Star, throat extremely tight.   
"Cats...don't...talk..."   
Rolling her eyes, the cat snorted at the two Scouts. "Some of us  
do," she responded coolly, tossing her head. "Including your two   
feline friends who just ran off."  
The gold-and-orange suited Sailor raised an eyebrow. "You knew   
about that?"  
She shrugged and began to fade slightly. "I know a lot of   
things," she responded casually, "Lyra and Celeste."  
The cat disappeared, and the two Galactic Sailors glanced at one  
another for a very long moment, hardly able to so much as talk with   
the near shock of the animal's showing.   
Then, licking her lips, the taller of the two smiled a slight   
bit and folded her hands. "Well, 'Leste, I know good advice when I   
hear it."   
She plunged out of the alley and into the street, the younger of  
the two following.  
And, from her spot atop the building, a certain scrappy calico   
cat smiled.  
************  
  
"I don't want to fight!" complained Neo-Sailor Moon, hopping   
across the gap between two buildings, Galactic Rod in hand. "I was   
buying clothes for Ambriel and now I'm going to beat up one of Doubt's  
monsters!"  
The pink cat launched herself across the gap as well and rolled   
her magenta eyes. "One of these days," she sighed, shaking her head a   
bit as she ran, "I am going to kill you and I'm not going to feel the   
least bit sorry!"  
Sailor Moon froze in mid-dash, sliding to a stop in her knee-  
high boots. "Uh-oh..."  
Both Doubt and her rather vile-looking creature were standing   
over an unconscious Sailor Chibi-Star and a very shaky Sailor Polaris.   
The standing Scout glared at the Raider and raised one of her arms.   
"Starry Sky... SMASH!" she hollered, bringing her hand down and away   
from her body in one swift motion.  
Stardust gathered into a ball and fell toward the Raider woman,   
who took it as a hint and faded into a swirl of blue light. The   
monster dodged the giant clump of stardust and threw several large   
cubes of hail at the young Scout.   
"No! Don't hurt her!" With a deep breath, Sailor Moon Dove from   
the top of the building, Rod pointed directly at the creature and eyes  
lowered into a dangerous glare. "Galactic Shower!" she announced,   
colored dusts and beams of whitish light flying toward the hail and   
turning it into little more than dust. Landing gracefully on the   
sidewalk, the teen pointed the Rod at her enemy. "I am Sailor Moon,   
and I fight for justice and against evil like you," she said in a   
rather dry tone. "Galactic Shower!"  
The monster roared before crumbling into a large pile of moon   
dust.   
Turning suddenly to her blonde-haired friend, Sailor Moon   
grimaced slightly and helped her up off the cool ground. "You alright,  
Polaris?" she asked softly, eyes riddled with concern and worry.  
The girl nodded quickly before glancing over to the youngest   
Sailor, who was now stirring and beginning to sit up. "Is she   
alright?" inquired the blonde Scout with worry.  
"I'm fine," grumbled the little girl, standing on her shaky   
legs. "But I still think that the cat was nuts."  
"CAT?" The four other Sailors, led by Orb, came running to the   
scene of the fight.   
"What are you talking about, you psychopaths?" Aurora Borealis   
raised an eyebrow and surveyed the area. "I don't see any cats!"  
With a sigh, Polaris shook her head and chewed her lower lip.   
"Let's find somewhere to meet," she suggested in a rather grim tone.   
"It's a long story."  
************  
  
Alex smiled sheepishly and looked up from the computer screen,   
taking off her reading glasses as she did so. "I'm sorry, but Susan's   
not here right now," she explained, glancing nervously at the aqua-  
haired musician. Michelle was glaring angrily at her wife, though God   
alone knew why.  
Making a face, Terrence threw himself into the nearest dining   
room chair. "Where'd she go?" he inquired nosily. "I need to talk to   
her about baby stuff..."  
"Well, that's just GREAT for you, I'm sure," shot the blonde,   
feeling herself tense, "but I've got about six dozen report cards to   
fill out by Sunday, and you're really not helping..."  
Michelle wiped her hands on the dishrag and smiled politely at   
the brunette visitor. "I'm sure," she supplied sweetly, "that both of   
us would adore to entertain you for the time being." She shot a stone-  
cold 'look' at her blonde companion. "Isn't that right, darling?"  
She grimaced. "Whatever you say, snookums," she replied,   
clenching her jaw in frustration as she slipped back on her eyewear   
and focused on the screen before her.  
"Nah, that's alright," he assured the couple, pulling himself   
out of the chair and bowing a bit to Michelle. "I really have a lot to  
do tonight, and..." Stopping, a small smile crossed his face. "Never   
mind..."  
The door opened and then quickly slammed as someone entered the   
house. "I am so sick of baby shopping!" announced an exasperated   
Susan, throwing down her purse in anger. "Everything is so cute and SO  
expensive! I could just hurl!"  
Furrowing her brow, Alex looked in doubt at the young man.   
"How'd you know she was coming?"   
He winked a green eye. "It's a gift!"  
"And another thing, MISTER CHIBA," called Susan to her boyfriend  
whilst stomping into the kitchen and pouring herself a large cup of   
water, "I do not like it when you show up unexpected at my house!" She  
turned to him, a glare in her red eyes, and immediately gave into a   
smile.  
Terrence was, as usual, wearing a very sloppy brown suit, with   
his gold-rimmed glasses nearly falling off his nose. Green eyes   
sparkled with happiness--happiness to see his one-and-only, happiness   
to be an expecting father... Happiness to be alive in such a   
wonderfully vibrant world. With a gentle smile, he chewed on his lower  
lip slowly. "Sorry, Sets... I just wanted to see you..."  
She bristled and crossed her arms, resting them on her bloated   
belly. "Why can't you call me 'Susan' for once?" she asked, looking   
away from him.   
"Okay, thank you two very much," shot Alexandra, standing and   
stretching a bit while making discreet gagging gestures. "But I really  
have had too much cute-ness today already, what with Brian and Hannah   
spending all morning discussing wedding plans..." With a shudder, she   
grabbed an apple off the counter and shined it on her shirt. "So, if   
you'll excuse the ever-cynical Mistress of Uranus, I'm going to go   
play video games!"  
As the other woman left down the stairs, Michelle plunged   
another dish into the sink. "It's a wonder that this marriage even   
works," she sighed with a shake of her head.  
The young man blanched, sitting on the edge of the kitchen   
table. "You've been married a month!" he commented ruefully. "How can   
you say something like that?"  
"Well, it's been a long month." She chortled at this, tossing   
her hair a bit.   
Susan smiled gently, walking over to stand beside Terrence.   
"There was something you wanted to talk to me about?" she inquired   
sweetly, leaning her head on one of his shoulders.  
Nodding, he smiled a bit. "Lamaze. What's the Planet Mistress   
approach to that?"  
"Sounds fun!" The musician commented with a grin. "I never got   
to do that..." She sighed and pouted a little. "I want to have my own   
baby..."  
A yell came up from the basement. "AND HOW THE HELL ARE WE   
SUPPOSED TO MANAGE THAT?"   
Laughing at her friend's antics, the Guardian of Time sighed   
wistfully. "I'd love to Terry," she replied. "It sounds like something  
we should really--ooh!"  
"What?" He jumped away from her and glanced nervously at her   
pregnant stomach. "Is something wrong?"  
"One of the little devils just kicked," she responded softly,   
resting a hand on her belly. "Ooh! There they go again!"  
Michelle was about to respond when her mate added another   
comment to the fray. "NOT EVEN, MICHI! YOU SO MUCH AS THINK IT AND..."  
The aqua-haired woman shook her head and continued with the dishes.   
Hesitantly, Terrence reached forward and rested one of his hands  
extremely lightly next to Susan's. "Does this hurt you?" he inquired   
softly, shaking a bit.  
She smiled. "It feels...different..." she responded, pressing   
his hand closer to her. "But your hand can't hurt me and, besides, I   
want you to feel this..."  
"I remember when Serenity was pregnant with the Princess," put   
in Michelle thoughtfully, watching the couple with teary blue eyes.   
"It was so wonderful to feel little Reeny kick..."  
A loud snort traveled up the stairs and into the kitchen. "WHAT   
PART OF NO DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND? NO BABIES!"  
Clenching her fists, Michelle stomped down to the basement   
angrily.  
Terrence smoothed his hand over Susan's belly. "I really don't   
think I appreciate this enough," he said softly.   
"I think you're right," came her casual response as she placed   
her hand atop his. "Can I confide in you?" Receiving an affirmative   
nod, she smiled shyly. "When I first found out about the pregnancy, I   
thought it was all a mistake... I thought that, perhaps, our one-night  
fling would return to haunt me." Leaning forward, she brushed her   
crimson lips across his. "But now," she whispered softly into his ear,  
"I know it wasn't."  
Covering her lips with his, Terrence pulled shut his eyes and   
drew her close. They stood there for a long moment, embracing, until  
he gasped in surprise.  
One of the babies had kicked.  
"It's amazing!" he announced, pulling away from her and   
delighting in the sensation as the child kicked once again. "I wonder   
which one's doing that!"  
She sighed wistfully. "Me too..." she agreed.  
Just then, Alexandra stumbled up the stairs, a bit confused. Her  
hair was ruffled and lipstick smeared her lips.  
"I was told to work on my report cards," she stammered,   
stumbling for the chair, "by a very...feisty...Michi..."  
The couple laughed.  
************  
  
"I don't get it," she sighed, pouting. "I've been looking around   
this city for what seems to been an eon, and I've yet to find the   
Prince."  
But you found her, commented the voice softly. The Princess.  
She froze in place, bristling. Many inappropriate words flew into   
her mind as she stood in her place, and she swallowed all of them   
quickly. "What good will a Princess do without her Prince?" she managed   
to croak out.   
Good point.  
"Of course it's a good point!" She let out a breath and shook her   
head. "I've quite nearly given up on all of this, sir. I don't know who   
you are, or where you're from, but I think that we'd best...meet..." Her  
green eyes narrowed as she glanced across the street.  
What? The voice was urgent. You have to be my eyes this time.  
Walking down the street was a young man with rather dark red hair.  
He held in his hand a few purple roses, and had a rather sad smile on   
his face as he went.   
"What's the symbol of the house of the Prince?" she asked softly,   
jaw dropping.  
The Starlit Prince? I'm ashamed...  
"Humor me." Her voice was flat.  
Roses. Purple roses.  
She grinned, feeling suddenly rejuvenated.  
"Bingo."  
************  
  
With a long sigh, Lyra hung her head while walking.  
'A cat?' Phoebe had laughed. 'Appearing in a flash of silver   
light? That may happen in old mangas, Lyra, but do you really think that  
it's at all feasible to happen in real-life?'  
But was real-life and what was fiction?  
'And besides,' Alice had put in, 'don't you think that it's a bit   
odd that the cat suddenly shows up and only talks to you and Celeste?'  
True. Very true. But they both had seen it...hadn't they?  
'Talking cats do happen,' Orb and Diana had commented together,   
'but we'd have known about it.'  
'And I would have, too,' came Reeny's words of wisdom.  
But something about this cat felt so right and so...familiar. Lyra  
shuddered.  
'The only thing I don't understand,' Tara had said, 'was the   
glimmering gold and silver light. But I'm sure it's in one of my   
books...'  
Haley hadn't been much help. 'Chin up, kiddo.'  
So, all-in-all, the Scout meeting had been more like an attempt to  
convince the two Scouts of the stars that there was no talking calico   
cat in all of Tokyo.  
But yet, there WAS.  
"I'm not nuts, am I?" asked Lyra aloud, kicking at a stone.  
No. She couldn't be nuts. That cat was real. It just had to be.  
And what about Orb's legend? Silver Star... The cat appeared in   
silver... Ambriel was of the Silver Moon... The star atop Celeste's   
transformation pen was gold... Reeny was of the Gold Moon... Gold...   
Silver... Silver... Gold...  
Silver and gold light... Silver and gold stardust... Silver and   
Gold Star.  
It all had to fit together, Lyra assured herself.  
Or did it...  
************  
  
Looking down at the roses in front of him, Richard let out a long   
sigh. Why did breaking up have to be so hard?  
It wasn't that he didn't like Lyra. No. Richard was very nearly in  
love with the lithe curly-haired teen who'd one day crashed into his   
life when a certain little six-year-old wouldn't give up on playing   
Sailor V. No. Lyra was Sailor Polaris, a wonderfully mysterious, sweet,   
helpful girl who'd live life to its fullest extent until the day she   
died.  
But her mother was a different story.   
The fight between his mother and Mina wasn't the factor in-and-of   
itself. It was the fact that Mrs. Mokoti was right.  
They were four years apart in age. Four years! He chided himself   
for attempting such a relationship. She was no child, but he was an   
adult! It was morally wrong, amongst other things. She'd get too   
attached, or he'd let his hormones get the better part of him, or he'd   
go away to college and leave her behind...  
No. That was that. No more Richard and Star...  
Lyra, he told himself. Her name was only Star while they were   
dating.   
"Richard?" came a soft voice from behind him. He whirled around,   
seeing, as fate would have it, a certain girl with corkscrew curls.   
"Hi, Lyra..." he sighed.  
She grinned and dashed across the last twenty feet between them as  
though it were nothing. "Boy, am I glad to see you!" she exclaimed,   
trying to weasel into his embrace.  
Grimacing, he held out the three roses and tried to smile. "Here,"  
he greeted her, trying to avoid her getting to close. "For you."  
The smell of her shampoo, as familiar as it had become, was   
intoxicating as the scent floated into his nostrils. Some part of him,   
however small or large it was, refused to turn away from her. It took   
all the will power he had and more to pull himself away from the girl   
and focus on the sidewalk before him.  
Her brown eyes, vibrantly alive, stared down at the flowers   
happily. But, upon looking up, she did not seem the same old happy   
Richard Umino that she liked so much.  
His face was contorted into a grievous frown. Staring listlessly   
at the ground, his incredibly deep cobalt eyes seemed almost teary. She   
gulped.  
"Are you alright?"  
Turning to her, he nodded a little and swallowed hard. Somehow, a   
lump had crawled up his throat and refused to move. And, in much the   
same way, his heart had taken a swan dive into his stomach. "Can we go   
talk?" he asked nervously, wringing his hands.  
She nodded, still staring at the flowers. "Of course, Rich," she   
responded softly, attempting to take his hand.  
With a grunt, he wrenched his hand away from hers and led the way.  
And, as he did, a single purple rose petal detached itself from   
the flower and drifted through the air.  
************  
  
She looked at it. A single rose petal. Purple in color. Before her  
a young couple, seemingly mismatched but really very cute, strolled down  
the street without speaking. The girl was blonde, her curly hair   
haphazard. And he...  
Purple roses. Starlit Prince.   
Her smile, which had been quite grim, widened noticeably.   
Silver Star. Princess of the Stars.  
But where was she?  
Green eyes focused once again on the blonde. Surely...  
Yes, it was! Maybe she didn't look quite the same, but the girl   
had to be Sailor Polaris. And Polaris was, after all, the ruling star of  
the night sky.  
Which meant...  
You'd best follow them, came the voice, a bit nervous. I think   
that they'll soon need your guidance...  
Quickening her pace, she tossed her head a bit. "I don't see why   
you can't just tell them," she addressed her unseen acquaintance. "I'm   
sure that you even know them better..."  
Even so, it returned, almost amused in nature, you are their   
Guardian Spirit. The...  
"Guardian of the Silver Star, Orion," she sighed, shaking her head  
in a bit of shame. "Does that really even matter?"  
Of course. The voice had become a bit sad. You were reborn only  
to unite them and...   
"AND?"  
To help them fight against the impending evil. The tone was   
reluctant.  
Sneering, she lowered her eyes and stopped mid-stride. "You mean I  
can't go home?" she shot in an angry tone. "You just wait, you good-for-  
nothing, little..."  
A door opened before her, and she gasped. The couple was walking   
into an apartment building.  
"Let's talk later," she shot, diving for the doorway and praying   
to make it.  
The door clicked shut just as the last inch of her body cleared   
the passage.  
************  
  
"What do you mean, 'perhaps'?" Orb lowered his eyes at the white   
cat before him. "Either you know or you don't!"  
The Kino apartment was empty except for three animals, who sat in   
the dark talking in hushed tones. Six eyes--two blue, two red, and two   
gold--glowed in the tiny bit of light that came from the sunset. Outside,  
the city was beginning to be taken over by the deep navy of dusk, but   
enough light remained to illuminate the cats.  
Diana bristled upon seeing her father's reaction to the younger   
cat's words. He had smirked knowingly. "Who is this mysterious cat?" she  
inquired softly, still shocked.  
Though both Lyra and Celeste had sworn to the existence of a fifth  
talking cat, neither could believe it. Only Moon cats could talk. All   
Moon cats were descendants of Artemis and Luna, the original Guardians   
of the Moon Kingdom. It couldn't be...  
Could it?  
Artemis smiled sadly and let out a long sigh. "Four Kingdoms." His  
children stared. "Gold Moon..." A flash of gold filled the room, as did   
a shadowed, almost holographic image of Neo-Queen Serenity. "Silver   
Moon..." Another flash, this one silver, appeared, and an adult's image   
did as well. She had floor-length red hair and was shrouded in silver.   
Large wings flapped slowly, and she took off into flight.  
"Ambriel... Angel Moon..." All words escaped Orb as he stared at   
the vision before him. It was so real... So very vivid and beautiful...   
"As an adult?"  
Their father nodded. "She is to be High Priestess of the Earth,"   
he responded casually. "And then, there is the Silver Star..."  
A girl appeared, standing aside a tall red-haired young man. She   
was garbed all in gold, her curly blonde hair cascading down her   
shoulders as she smiled slightly. A tiny silver star was embedded upon   
her forehead.  
The man, however, was more simply clothed, wearing a traditional   
black tuxedo. His shirt, however, was silver, and a purple rose   
protruded from one of his breast pockets.  
Suddenly, a flash of silver covered the view and a tiny cat   
replaced the dreamy image. A tiny star, five-pointed and bright silver,   
stood on its forehead, and its fur was scrappy and unkempt. It stood   
outside some sort of wooden door, a sneer on its face. "Sir..." The   
voice was feminine and strong. "Sir, we have a problem."  
Artemis spoke. "What?"  
"He's going to...umm...dump her," she said in a calm tone. "What   
do we do if the Prince and the Princess don't want to be together?"  
"You," the white cat shot back, "get in there and prevent that   
event!"  
She wrinkled her nose and sighed. "Yes sir."  
The image faded out of sight, and both of the younger Moon cats   
jumped. "That's..."  
"And the Gold Star..." He ignored the pleas of his children and   
continued.  
A young blonde girl, dressed completely in a gold Sailor fuku,   
stood before them. In her hands was an indescribably beautiful staff,   
also in gold, with a singular golden star atop it. Winking a big green   
eye, she disappeared.  
"When the Silver Millennium ended," said the cat with a long sigh,  
blue eyes closed tightly, "those four children were locked away, only to  
be reborn when their natural parents had them." He smiled slightly. "And  
so the two rulers of the Silver Star each had their natural child, and   
the Princess of Venus had her Keeper, and the Priestess was brought back  
upon the Eve of the Silver Moon." Eyes flying open, his smile grew   
larger. "And soon, all will fall into place."  
Sister and brother stared at one another wordlessly. What was it   
that he meant by all that? Were all those other Kingdoms, as legendary   
as they were, possibly real? And what about that cat...  
Orb raised an eyebrow. "And that cat is the Guardian of the   
Stars?" he inquired, confused.  
Winking, the white cat shrugged. "Star light, star bright... Star   
Princess," was all he said in answer.  
************  
  
"What's wrong?" Lyra asked with concern in her voice.  
To say that she didn't know Richard would be a flat-out lie. She   
knew him almost as well as she knew herself. Something about his eyes,   
about his mere manner... It called to her, told her the truth, and made   
her feel oddly...complete...  
The young man stared at the floor, avoiding an answer.   
Since the first moment he'd greeted her, she had known that   
something was wrong. Never before had he pulled away from her. She'd   
tried to take his hand, hug him, even to kiss him, but Richard was   
avoiding it. That could mean only one thing... The bones of an argument   
buried in the past...  
"It's not my mother..."  
So thus they stood, in the empty Umino apartment, each avoiding   
the other's gaze.   
"You know, Lyra, your mother had a really good point." She   
attempted to stop him but he raised his hand. "Let me finish."   
Richard's voice was gentle and sad as he spoke. "I am four years older   
than you...and maybe it would be better if... Well, maybe..." He paused,  
searching desperately for the right words. Looking a moment to at Lyra,   
his heart skipped a beat. She was near tears, listening. He hated to do   
this. He really liked Lyra. Her sweet smile, her curly hair, her great   
personality. She was so beautiful. But, no, he had to do this. What   
would the adults say?   
Taking in a deep breath, he closed two stormy cobalt eyes. Four   
years. Four years. Four years. The grim motif ran through his head in a   
steady beat. It was better this way. No one could disapprove. There'd be  
more young men for her... She was beautiful... Alive... Four years...  
"Lyra, I think it would be best if we stopped..."  
"Freeze right there!" A stern, female voice caused both of the   
teens to nearly leap out of their skin. "If you two break up, do know   
how that would ruin the entire Time-Space Continuum? Not to mention, I   
wouldn't be able to go home!" The speaker cleared her throat. "Then,   
there'd be real Hell to pay, you two."  
"Who's there?" Richard's voice was shaky.  
Without warning, a calico cat appeared from what seemed to be   
nowhere, silver light flurrying around her. Her head was mostly black   
with a clearly printed silver five-pointed star upon her forehead. She   
leapt onto the coffee table and stared at the two teens. Then, in an   
almost royal voice, she spoke.  
"I am the official Guardian Spirit of the Kingdom of the Silver   
Star. My name is Orion." She bowed her head towards both Richard and   
Lyra.   
"So?" Richard and Lyra were both confused.   
"You mean you don't know who I am?" The cat was shocked. "The   
Starlit Prince should have learned these things long ago!" She shook her  
head. "When will you learn?"  
They blinked, as though they were not listening to a word she   
said.  
"And another thing... The Starlit Prince should NOT..."  
"That explains everything!" Lyra spoke for the first time,   
cutting into what was quickly becoming a tirade. "He isn't the Starlit   
Prince."  
"Well, of course he..." Orion's green eyes went wide. "You haven't  
told her?" she exclaimed, incredulous. "Shame on you!"   
Lyra gulped, scratching the top of her head in confusion. This   
little calico cat with the bright green eyes was accusing HER Richard of  
being the...  
Calico cat? Bright green eyes? It was the same animal as in the   
alleyway!  
The girl blinked. "You... You're that cat!" she yelped, brown eyes  
huge. "The one from the alley!"  
Orion's voice was dry. "Neither of you have any clue what I'm   
talking about, do you?" she inquired, eyes lowering a bit.  
"Now that you mention it... No." Richard sat down on the couch.   
Sighing, the cat started what promised to be a long story.  
"Long ago, in the Silver Millennium, there was a Kingdom called   
the Silver Star. The rulers of the Kingdom were two women, and they were  
each with child. The two children would someday rule.  
"So, yadda yadda, the pregnancies went great. The one woman was   
expecting a little girl, who was to be named Lyra." Orion's eyes flew to  
the blonde as she said this. "And the other was to have a son--Richard."  
She glanced to the young man. "But, the Silver Millennium was slowly   
being destroyed and I was stuck with the task of saving your unborn   
butts."  
Lyra raised an eyebrow. "And how the Heck did you manage that   
one?" she questioned, not really understanding the story. "You're a   
cat..."  
"In my true form," supplied Orion, deadpan, "I am a shape-shifter.  
"Well, I saved you two. That was easy. However, I couldn't save   
both of your parents in each case. I saved the mother of the Prince,   
BUT..." She shook her head. "I could only save your father, Lyra.  
"The mother and father were reborn, and I collapsed in a field of   
flowers. This voice in my head...well... It sort of tells me a lot of   
things, important or not. The last thing I remember is the flowers."  
Richard considered this. "Then how am I a Prince?" he asked   
softly, chewing on his lip. "And, if Lyra's the Princess, how the Hell   
did she become Sailor Polaris?"  
"And what about the Gold Star?" added the girl. "What's that have   
to do with anything?" She paused, picking at one of her fingernails.   
"And what about Ambriel?"  
Rolling her green eyes, the cat shook her head in exasperation.   
"Let me get to that," she sighed in annoyance. "So, anyway, you were   
both to be reborn when your parents got married and had their own,   
thirtieth-century children.  
"But, there was a catch. The Princess' father didn't just pick to   
marry any woman--he picked to wed the woman who was once the Princess of  
Venus, Mina Aino."  
His eyes went wide. "Your mother's the Mistress of Venus?" he   
inquired.  
Lyra blushed.  
"Now, there was a rule made long ago--the first born child of a   
Sailor Scout was to become a Sailor Scout. And, in this case, the same   
happened. The problem was that Lyra, as the Princess, also had to be   
born first...so..." She trailed off.  
The blonde girl ran a shaky hand through her hair. "Two for the   
price of one..." she gulped nervously.  
Orion nodded. "And, it gets even stranger. The minute you were   
born, something magical came over the Prince here, and he was endowed   
with his own powers. To protect you, should anything bad come to pass."  
"But then that makes him..."  
"That makes me..."  
The three voices united. "The Starlit Prince."  
Silence filled the room as the young couple stared at one another.  
This was stranger than they could have imagined in their wildest dreams.  
Lyra cleared her throat and took in a shaking breath. "Is there anything  
else that you know and I don't?" she inquired, almost breathlessly.  
"Do you," retorted the cat, "really want to know?"  
************  
  
Celeste looked up at the stars, eyes wide. Inside the Palace,   
perhaps in the Princess' bedroom, there was a massive debate going on,   
and she and her elder sister had caused it all. What had been such the   
big deal, anyway? She didn't know.  
But that cat was causing its fair share of problems.  
So the little blonde girl, no older than six, swung her legs back   
and forth as she sat on the elaborate park bench within Serenity's   
courtyard. It had been a long day.  
Stirring a bit, the sleepy handmaiden stretched and looked at her   
watch. Lisa glanced at the child with a slight smile. She was a wise   
woman despite her years--or lack thereof. But, then again, what did   
define a wise person? Surely, it wasn't just someone old... It was   
someone rich in life experiences and spirit, which Celeste was. Without   
a doubt, that was one thing she was.  
"Hey, Celeste," she called out, pulling the dull brown coat closer  
to herself as she did so, "do you want to go inside yet?"  
The child didn't say anything, but she shook her head.  
Lisa walked toward the girl and sat next to her, wrapping a tight   
arm around her shoulders as she did so. "How hard this all must be," she  
commented softly, blue eyes sympathetic and soothing. "What are you so   
worried about, little one?" She received no response. "Is it because of   
the cat?"  
Her voice was quiet, hoarse, and rather monotone. "The cat was   
real," Celeste responded. "She has something to do with our past."  
"Past?"  
Rising, the girl looked into the handmaiden's eyes. "I'm sorry   
Lisa, and thank you very much for your support, but..." She took a deep   
breath and gulped slowly. "There is something I must do."  
As Celeste departed, running down the dirt path toward the main   
gates with her blonde hair flying quickly behind her, Lisa called after   
her. "Be careful!" she warned nervously, teeth clenched.  
With a long sigh, the handmaiden smoothed her brown skirts and   
glanced up at the night sky. The stars shone brightly down on her   
despite the bitter cold. "Please," she whispered, licking her parched   
lips, "let her be careful."  
************  
  
Kicking at the gray stone, Doubt growled. "Those stupid pests!"   
she announced to the empty Chamber of Spirits. "I am going to take care   
of them once and from all!"  
With a slightly sinister chuckle, the Raider King appeared in the   
room, glaring at the woman as he did so. "And how, Doubt, do you plan to  
do that?" The question was nearly rhetorical. "You so often overlook   
those wretched Sailor's powers, and they managed to defeat even your   
strongest monster."  
"Well, I have a plan!" she protested loudly, a scroll appearing   
before her and unrolling. "Sailor Polaris is to have a birthday in a few  
days," she explained coolly, ebony eyes skimming the material. Doubt was  
almost bored. She had gone over the material time and again, always   
coming to the conclusion that this new plan would work.   
Last time her plan was to work, Violence had died.  
She shivered and cleared her throat a bit. "As I was saying, she   
will have a birthday." The scroll closed. "I will use the data we have   
on Chibi-Star to track down Polaris, for the Scouts will undoubtedly   
spend the day with their friend. And then..." Pausing dramatically, she   
glanced into the King's eyes.  
They were completely lifeless, and she shivered for a second time,  
feeling herself tense.   
"Yes, well," Doubt continued, clearing her throat nervously, "I   
will destroy her."  
He rolled his crimson eyes. "Good luck..."  
As the King faded away, her eyes flew to the three remaining   
stones--gray, crimson, and silver. All else had failed, but would this   
attempt?  
She prayed that it wouldn't.  
************  
  
Lyra leaned back into the couch. "You didn't know that you were   
the Starlit Prince?" she inquired, almost amused. "That's hard to   
believe."  
"I don't know why I didn't know," he responded, fingering one of   
the purple roses that was set upon the living room coffee table. "You   
know, it all makes a strange amount of sense now... My mother's strange,  
cryptic sayings... The occasional black-outs that I didn't understand...  
The..."  
"Well, yes," interrupted Orion urgently, eyes half-closed. Her   
constitution was nothing like it had been in the Silver Millennium...   
Then again, she had slept for the last few thousand years, so perhaps   
that was good reasoning. "But I would like to finish my story. Ready?"  
Both the teens looked at her in supreme doubt. They'd taken a much  
needed break from the confusion to sit back and let it all set in, but   
the cat had more to tell. Orion was a strange creature, not because she   
was a talking cat, but because of her general manner.   
Richard bit his lip slightly and nodded, closing his eyes. "I   
think so," he said, finding Lyra's hand and interlacing their fingers   
together. "When you are."  
The cat grinned. "I thought so." Clearing her throat, she   
continued.  
"Also during the Silver Millennium was the Silver Moon. It was a   
body of priests and priestesses, ruled by Angel Moon." She paused. "I am  
NOT going to explain Angel Moon, because that would take a good month.   
Anyway, once a year there was an annual festival called the Eve of the   
Silver Moon.  
"The festival was basically a yearly excuse for all the   
priestesses and priests to get really smashed, but it was totally   
different for Ambriel. For some strange reason, every year, about a week  
before Christmas, she would totally shut down and begin to meditate."   
Orion shook her head. "It was only later that we found out the festival   
was begun because it was her birthday. And Ambriel..."  
The blonde teen interrupted, "was reborn here as well, on the Eve   
of the Silver Moon." Receiving a nod from the cat, she beamed. "Well,   
that makes sense."  
"And lastly, there was the Keeper of the Nebulae." Pausing, she   
licked one of her paws and took in a deep, sharp breath. "It's really   
hard to explain this one, but it ties into the Mistress of Venus more   
than it does the Princess of Stars..."  
"Well," put forth Richard, "a nebula is a cloud of illuminated   
dust particles. Why would someone 'keep' those?"  
Lyra smacked him upside the head. "Because they're pretty!" she   
announced, scowling a bit.  
The cat chuckled. "That's exactly what Venus had said." She   
paused. "There's something very powerful about nebulae, and the first   
Queen of Venus sought to control that power and protect such places of   
vast wonder and beauty. Thus was born the Keeper of the Nebulae,   
protected by the power of the Gold Star." She shook her head. "And I'll   
tell you this much...  
"Ambriel is destined to be the High Priestess of the Earth as an   
adult, ruling the Earth alongside four powerful monarchs..."  
Both teens froze as soon as the animal paused. They knew what was   
coming.  
"The Princess of the Stars, the Prince of the Stars, the Keeper of  
the Nebulae, and the Master of Time."  
A knock sounded at the door as she finished, and Richard leapt   
into the air upon hearing it. The sound, along with the other   
announcements of the day, had completely shot his nerves, and--as far as  
he could tell--had shot Lyra's, too.   
"Who... Who is it?" He strode toward the doorway.  
A young sigh was heard. "It's Lyra's sister and, if you don't open  
up, I'm going to be mad!"   
He obliged, and she pranced in, seeing the cat and nearly   
fainting. Shakily, she circled the table, poking the animal a few times.  
She rubbed a pair of sleepy green eyes. "Lyra," she addressed her sister  
nervously, "what is this?"  
The blonde teen furrowed her brow in frustration. "A cat."   
"The same one?"  
"Mmm-hmm."  
"What's the Star mean?"  
Orion glared at the child and made a face. "I'm the Guardian   
Spirit of the Kingdom of the Silver Star and--Oh, my God." She froze in   
place and stared up at the child. "You're her."  
"Her?" All three humans stared blankly at the calico.  
"I didn't think it was possible, but you're really her!"  
Celeste stuck out her tongue in confusion. "Who's 'her'?" she   
asked softly.  
"The Keeper of the Nebulae and destined ruler of the Earth, of   
course!"  
There was a long pause as Orion said this.  
And then, all Hell broke loose.  
************  
  
Putting down the phone, the pink-haired Princess gulped. "Well,   
this promises to be an interesting evening," she said softly, wringing   
her hands as she sat on the edge of the bed.  
The four other teens, who were all lounging in various positions   
about Reeny's large chamber looked to their leader. It had already been   
a very interesting day. The appearance of a fifth talking cat had set   
all the teenagers into a world of confusion and relative chaos. It   
wasn't as though they didn't believe Lyra and Celeste, because they, of   
course, did believe them. It was just that the story was extremely...  
odd...  
Winning what seemed to be her hundredth game of arm wrestling   
against Phoebe, the brunette girl cracked her knuckles. "Who was it,   
Reen?" she inquired rather briskly, taking the blue-haired girl's hand   
once again and attempting to pin it to the table.   
"It was Lyra," sighed the eldest Scout with a long sigh. "And   
you'll never guess what she said."  
All eyes turned to her. Haley dropped her guard and Phoebe won the  
game. Tara looked up from her thick volume of Spiritual Encyclopedia.   
Alice nearly dropped Ambriel off her lap. Staring, no one dared to move.  
The situation with Lyra so bothered them because of the fact that   
it felt familiar. Almost right. As though, deep down, whatever was   
happening was supposed to happen. In Phoebe's words: 'It's like déjà vu   
has infested and I don't know how to stop it. This cat, Tara's visions,   
and everything else for that matter... It was meant to be this way.'  
Reeny breathed slowly and closed her wary red eyes. "She, Richard,  
and Celeste are coming to visit," she gulped, voice nearly shaky. "And   
they're bringing the cat."  
************  
  
She sighed. It was cold outside. The January air bit her skin   
cruelly, and she could feel her teeth chatter as she walked.  
But her mission was complete.  
You found them, it said once again. She was starting to   
understand that her guide was male. And that he was as she was. A   
Guardian.  
"You're happy, then?" she questioned, doubt in her tone.  
His voice seemed delighted. Never before have I been happier, he  
responded softly. All the destinies are falling into place. The Prince,  
the Princess, the Keeper, and the Priestess... They will all rule the   
Earth someday.  
She considered this with a furrowed brow. "And what of the Master   
of Time?" she asked softly, pace slowing a bit. "He's in the prophecies   
as well..."  
You will not need to find him, the voice returned. He will soon  
be born, and all will be as it should.  
"I hope so..." Her green eyes trailed off the ground and to her   
three companions. They were hushed, now--the young man with his arm   
wrapped almost protectively around his little girlfriend; the six-year-  
old girl was strolling slightly behind them, smiling widely. Never   
before had she been so happy, and the observer smiled in kind.   
Upon finding that she was the Keeper of the Nebulae, Celeste had   
been, at first, terrified. She didn't understand her destiny, yet alone   
want to be part of it. But she'd slowly grown to like the news...  
For the Keeper of the Nebulae was one of the most powerful beings   
in the Universe, dwarfed only by the powers of both Neo-Queen Serenity   
and the Princess.   
So, walking down the street were the Princess of the Stars, the   
Prince of the Stars, the Keeper of the Nebulae, and the Guardian of the   
Silver Star.  
And Orion's smile grew larger as she spoke.  
"This is how it's supposed to be, isn't it?"  
The voice came once again, and he was amused. Yes, Orion, he   
told her. It is.  
************  
  
Lisa placed Ambriel into the large white crib, a slight smile on   
her face.   
"I don't," the handmaiden commented, brushing her blonde bangs   
from her eyes, "understand you, little one. And I can't promise to ever   
understand you." She paused, trailing her fingers across one of the   
child's pale silken cheeks. "But I wish I knew what you were..."  
A silver light illuminated the room, and the woman gasped. The   
door hadn't opened, so what was it that had come in? Surely, no person   
could have done such a thing...  
"Do not be afraid," said a soft voice, and Lisa felt her eyes   
widen considerably. Before her was a young woman--really no more than a   
girl--dressed completely in white. Her hair was silver and flowed freely  
past her ankles to the floor, pooling in a pile of what appeared to be   
molten metal. Blue eyes shone brightly from under thick silvery   
eyelashes, and pursed pink lips were smiling slightly as the stranger   
took a long step forward. The light, which was an enchanting sheen of   
color, came from a tiny silver crescent moon on her forehead.  
But perhaps the strangest thing about the woman was behind her.   
Two perfectly white wings, feathery and indescribable, decorated her   
back, and they swayed slightly in some unknown breeze.  
"I will not hurt you or the child," the angel stated plainly, her   
rich, deep voice filling the room as she slowly paced toward the crib.   
"For I am the first Angel of the Moon."  
Lisa's breath caught in her throat as she said this. "Angel..."   
she stammered, shaking. "Of...the Moon?"  
With a laugh, high and rich, the Angel bowed her head in a slight   
nod. "Right now, destinies are being fulfilled and, though you are   
seemingly nothing compared to the Galactic Sailors, I must ask you a   
favor." She paused, a tongue darting quickly across her rosy lips. "You   
must promise me to do this, or all will be lost."  
"Anything." The handmaiden fell to one knee in reverence. "I, as a  
servant of the Queen, will do anything you ask, Angel of the Moon."  
Chortling, the angel rested a single hand upon the woman's blonde   
hair. "I need you to see to it that Reeny does a good job raising this   
child...as a Priestess."  
Lisa glanced up in doubt. "Priestess, my Angel?"  
"Yes. Ambriel is to be the first Priestess of the Earth, and she   
is to rekindle the flames of the Silver Moon." Glancing into the crib   
with her blue eyes, the angel let out a long sigh. "It pains me so to   
not be able to take care of my own daughter, but the Princess should   
know..."  
The handmaiden pulled back from the mysterious creature before her  
and gasped involuntarily. "You're the one who left her in the cold?" She  
tried to withhold a sneer, but it didn't work. "How could you?"  
"My time," retorted the angel, "grows short. I cannot stay on this  
planet much longer..." She trailed off, azure eyes turning sad and   
teary. "But I know that, if you try to help, Reeny will be an excellent   
mother to Ambriel."  
"Is that what she is to be?" Lisa's slight anger quickly melted   
away into understanding and a bit of pride. "I know that the Princess   
will someday make a great mother..."  
The other took a long step backward and smiled, wiping a tear from  
her white cheek. "And Helios will make a great father to both this girl   
and more children." The angel's smile became one of pure delight as she   
folded her hands at her waist. "I just hope that you can understand and   
embrace the fact that Ambriel is not like normal children..."  
Gazing at the sleeping child as the silver light began to fade,   
Lisa smiled widely and swallowed the coming tears. Maybe, one day, she   
would understand all this and look back without confusion and smile.  
"I'll take good care of her..." she breathed softly. "I promise."  
************  
  
"So you're the Guardian of the Silver Star?"  
"Yes... And no. I'm the Guardian of the Stars. Period."  
"And you're here to guide Lyra, Richard, Celeste, and Ambriel to   
their ultimate destinies?"  
"Exactly."   
The five Sailor Scouts stared blankly at the calico cat who sat on  
the bed. Her motley fur and bright green eyes stood out in the lamplight  
as everyone looked expectantly at her.   
Orion cleared her throat and put on a knowing smile. "Sailor   
Scouts, I know what I'm talking about," she told them rather smugly,   
"and believe me when I say that those four you just mentioned..."  
"Richard, Lyra, Celeste, and Ambriel?" interrupted Alice rather   
dully, her chestnut eyes still glued on the animal.  
The cat let out a long sigh and hung her head. "Of course," she   
retorted, annoyed. "I will teach them how to fulfill their lives and to   
become the rulers of the Earth, or my name isn't..."  
"Orion." Her tone was dry as she walked into the room, the two   
younger Guardians in tow. "Of all the slime to slither up here at a time  
like this." Luna smirked haughtily. "What in the name of the Moon brings  
you all the way to Earth?"  
Groaning, the calico lowered her green eyes at the ancient black   
cat who stood before her. "Fancy meeting YOU here, Luna," she shot back   
edgily. "What happened to free you from the wet and wild world of HELL?"  
The black animal's tail began to puff up as she glared her orange   
eyes at the younger cat. Silence fell quickly over the room, and it was   
only broken by Orion's voice.   
"Lyra and Richard," she called to the couple, "I want you to take   
the rest of the girls into the next room..."  
Reeny shook her head slowly. "That's Ambriel's, and she's asleep,"  
she commented with a sigh. "Nice try."  
"Okay," the cat shot, "go to the library." Seeing the pink-haired   
teen open her mouth in response, the cat put her foot down. "Just get   
the Hell out of here and I will explain later!"  
The eight humans were out of the door in a flash.  
As soon as the cats were alone in the room, Luna narrowed her eyes  
and stared directly into the calico's forest-colored eyes. Her face was   
straight and stern as she once again cleared her throat. "Here to cause   
ruin once again?"  
Orion bristled. "How is the fall of the Silver Millennium MY   
fault, you wretched old fur ball?"  
"Hey!" objected the pink cat, her own muscles tensing. "What gives  
you the right to talk to my MOTHER that way?"  
"The fact," shot back the calico, "that I didn't do anything   
wrong!"   
Luna let out a long sigh in exasperation. "Yes, you did," she   
returned, voice growing softer. "If you hadn't slept, both rulers of the  
Silver Star could have lived and the rest of us could have possibly led   
a normal life!"  
"Normal?" inquired Orb, speaking for the first time. His gold eyes  
were focused on the stranger as he spoke, and he felt enchanted. "We   
could never be normal! We're Guardians..." He shook his head. "We're   
Guardians. It's of our nature to be different."  
Furrowing her brow, his mother glanced at him in doubt. "No one   
told you to speak, Orb."  
Diana shook her head and sighed. "Come, Mother... Let's go consult  
Serenity about this..."  
As the duo started to leave, Orion stood up and paced quickly   
after them. "You're avoiding the subject!" she shot as they walked out   
the door. "You'll never understand if you're too lazy to listen!"  
When they were gone, she hung her head. Never before had it been   
so difficult or tedious to deal with Luna. In all the years of the   
Silver Millennium, they'd gotten along fairly well--never were the two   
close enough to be called 'friends', but they'd not fought. But, for   
some reason, Luna blamed it all on her...  
Don't worry, sighed the voice sympathetically. She's always   
been like that, and Diana is her mother's daughter...  
"Yeah, well," Orion sniffed, feeling so many foreign emotions that  
her stomach churned, "I don't care. I don't think it's right, and..."  
Another voice spoke up. "Who do you talk to?" asked Orb softly,   
stepping forward to get a closer look at his subject. Her multi-colored   
fur was unkempt and dirty, yet something about it shone and sparkled in   
the light. Green eyes full of mystery and awe darted to examine his face  
before turning away.  
Tossing her head, she scoffed at him. "That is none of your   
business," she spat at him, jumping atop the bed in a sleek movement.   
"Go visit with your stupid family."  
"Now, that's not fair." He raised an eyebrow at her. "You really   
protect the Princess and Prince of the Stars?"  
She snorted. "Thank you, Captain Obvious."  
He looked at her in doubt and made a face. "Now, come on... I'm   
trying to be nice to you. You're this enchanting, interesting alien   
creature, and I am...smitten...with the idea that you're here and..."   
Orb shook his head and blushed a bit. "And I really think that my mother  
is wrong about you."  
Taking in a deep breath, Orion clenched her jaw. "I am not   
enchanting," she said softly, voice almost whispering. "And you are not   
smitten." Her green eyes lowered into a harsh glare. "I don't understand  
how, after witnessing that mess with I had your mother, you can even   
begin to sit here and throw out false compliments." She turned away   
quickly to hide a few coming tears. "Get out."  
"Orion, I don't mean..."  
The Guardian of the Star Kingdom just ignored him and buried her   
head in the white quilt on the Princess' bed.   
"Just get out."  
************  
  
She rose feeling the sweet rays of the sun on her face, stretching  
slowly as she climbed from her bed and walked to the window. It was just  
an average day.  
One week ago, she'd found herself in a world that she didn't   
understand. Certainly, she was still on Earth, but it was just different  
than it had ever been before. All bonds had been tested; all loyalties   
had been pulled and poked until they nearly burst.  
But they'd survived.  
And it was all becoming much clearer.  
A light knock sounded on the door and Lyra whirled around to greet  
it, bright blonde curls sparkling in the morning sunlight. "Come in,"   
she called softly, a smile crossing her face.  
Her mother stepped in, carrying a large basket of laundry. "Good   
morning, sleepy head," she grinned at the teen, placing a few pairs of   
pants on the now-empty bed. "I took the liberties of calling Tara and   
telling her you'd be late to the party."  
The teen grimaced and glanced at the wall clock. Ten a.m. already?  
She was late, and exclaimed so while diving for the closet. "Why didn't   
you get me up?" she whined, slipping on the gold skirt that she'd picked  
to wear for the day. "You could have at least tried to! The other Scouts  
are going to kill me!" Seeing the amused smirk on the adult's face, Lyra  
wrinkled her nose. "What?"  
Shaking her head, Mina let her smile grow wider. "Well, it's just   
sort of funny," she put in sweetly. "I suggested the same thing to   
Celeste when she left an hour ago, but I was told to let you sleep..."  
"Even my kid sister got there on time!" shot the blonde girl with   
a long sigh, pulling her black sweater on and quickly binding her curls   
into a tight ponytail. "I tell you what, Ma... If I'm ever this late   
again to my own party, shoot me!"  
"Will do," chortled Mina, starting out the door. Pausing, her face  
turned thoughtful as she slipped one of the two bracelets off her wrist.  
It was silver and made of tiny interlocking hearts, contrasting greatly   
with the boring navy-and-orange glass beads beside it. Lyra remembered   
that her mother had received the jewelry as a gift from her parents on   
her fifteenth birthday. Though that event had taken place thousands of   
years ago, she'd kept the bracelet as a constant reminder that there was  
more to life than just being a Scout.  
The woman sighed. "Here, Lyra." Holding out the gift, she blinked   
back the tears that welled up in her light blue eyes. "I got this when I  
turned fifteen, and I want you to have it..."  
Accepting the bracelet, the teen slipped it on her wrist and   
clenched her mom's hand. "Thank you," she whispered, tears coming to her  
brown eyes as well. "I'll wear it every day."  
As they both left the bedroom, Mina stopped and turned to her   
daughter before she went down the stairs. "Oh," she smiled, as though   
she was just remembering something, "and Lyra?"  
"Hmm?" The girl cocked her head.  
"Happy Birthday."  
************  
  
"A lot of things can happen in just one week."   
Doubt shook her head as she passed the electronic store, listening  
to the made-for-TV movie with a sort of half-hearted effort.   
The Sailor Scouts were at the Cherry Hill Temple, unsuspecting of   
any Raider attack. Or, at least Sailor Chibi-Star was.  
Were Raiders supposed to feel guilt? Were they supposed to   
understand the way others felt? She did. Something in the pit of her   
stomach nagged her. Perhaps it was the closeness with Chibi-Star that   
she had. Or maybe it was the lingering fact that she'd found the Sailor   
Scouts to be real people. Or could it just be indigestion?  
Whatever the case, she felt herself slow her speed as she walked   
down the street. Four blocks. Only four blocks until the final   
destruction of the Sailor Scouts and the freedom of the Raider band.   
Only four blocks until she could avenge the deaths of the others.  
She'd never admitted it to them, and she would never admit it   
aloud, no matter how much torture she was put through, but Doubt knew   
she'd loved the other Raiders. They'd brought a part of her life   
together and made it complete. And something about it just...fit...   
Smiling, the Raider of the Andromeda Galaxy named Doubt stretched   
a bit and rubbed her hands together.  
It was time to dance with destiny.  
************  
  
"But, you're the Starlit Prince," whined Orion with a disdainful   
glare toward the young man in the letterman jacket. "You can't wander   
out here. If you catch cold, then think of the peril your Princess will   
be in..."  
Richard shot a soft but stern glance at the little calico, who   
then began to pout. Her quick, slightly angry breaths left tiny trails   
of steam throughout the air as she looked at the ground. Feeling a bit   
guilty, he sighed. "Well... Orion..." he scrambled. "Shouldn't I wait up  
for my Princess instead of waiting inside? What if she gets hurt out   
here and I'm not around?"  
She huffed. "The Starlit Prince should not look for excuses when   
it comes to his bad behavior," she retorted, a smirk crossing her face.   
She liked to play games of wit.   
"Well, then," returned the young man. "I guess I'm not a very good  
Starlit Prince, am I?"  
A chuckle sounded behind them. "Course you are, Richard!" giggled   
Celeste, appearing out of the temple with a wide grin on her face. "You   
just don't know it yet!"  
The flood of memories hadn't ceased since the day he'd learned of   
his destiny and of the life he was to lead as the Prince of the Silver   
Star and future ruler of the Earth. He remembered his first battle with   
the Raiders at Crystal Music Academy; he'd recalled with vivid accuracy   
the time he'd helped kill the shadow demon at Best Buy. Suddenly, it had  
all made sense, and he'd only regretted not yet telling his mother about  
all the discoveries he'd made.  
And one other thought had recently entered his mind.  
Princess or not, he was in wild love with Lyra.  
"Hey, Earth to Richard!" hollered the little blond girl, jumping   
up and down in front of him, pigtails flailing wildly in the cool   
January air. "You awake?"  
Smiling down on her, he grabbed her around the waist and hoisted   
the child up in the air, whirling her around in circles. She squealed   
endlessly as he did so, but he refused to so much as slow the turns.   
Kicking and squirming, Celeste tried to escape and, when he finally did   
put her down, collapsed while laughing. "What," she attempted, clutching  
her sides, "was that for?"  
With a shrug, the redhead glanced at her. She was a sight to see,   
pigtails now falling out and green eyes teary from giggling so hard. He   
laughed a bit too, but for a quite different reason than she did. "I   
really don't know," he admitted, offering a hand to help her up. "But I   
think that this is the first time in my life that I actually feel like   
I'm alive."  
"I'm alive..." came a new voice, repeating his last line. "You   
haven't read the book 'Dandelion Wine', have you?" Lyra's head appeared   
at the top of the stairs, followed slowly by the rest of her body. "When  
I was in my seventh-grade 'Literary Adventures' class, we read it." She   
shrugged and stopped in front of her younger sister. "One day, the main   
character realizes that he's alive."  
Richard glanced at the blonde Princess, eyes basking in the glory   
of her every inch. She wore a rather plain gold skirt with a fluffy   
black sweater; her hair pulled up in a rather haphazard ponytail. But   
every portion of her was just perfect, and he found himself wondering   
why he even considered breaking up with her.  
Because--Princess or not--he was in wild love with Lyra.  
Celeste clambered to her feet. "Everybody's waiting on you!" she   
announced.  
Feeling forgotten, Orion stepped forward. "The Keeper of the   
Nebulae shouldn't be so immature," she told the little girl, eyes slowly   
drifting toward Lyra. "And the Princess of the Stars should not be so   
late."  
Wrapping a protective arm around his girlfriend's waist, Richard   
lowered his blue eyes at the cat. "Orion, do me a favor."  
"What?"   
"Shut up."  
************  
  
"Okay, whose gift is next?" inquired the blue-haired teen, looking  
over the last three presents in the pile.  
Against the wills of both Chad and Raye, the fire reading room had  
been turned into a miniature party hall for the sake of the Sailors and   
their friends. The great fire had been doused, streamers and create   
paper hung from each and every corner, and balloons floated freely   
around the room, either laying on the floor or being freely suspended on  
the ceiling.  
Lyra grinned. Around her sat various gifts: a volume of   
Shakespeare from Phoebe, a gift certificate to the neighborhood sports   
store from, a booklet of free meal vouchers at 'Jupiter's Delight' from   
Alice, and a sweater from Celeste (with help from the others, of course).  
The blonde picked up the largest box, which was from Reeny, and   
proceeded to tear it open. Pulling out a long silver dress, she cocked   
her head to one side. "What's this for?"  
From her spot in the Princess' arms, Ambriel threw up her arms and  
giggled. "Star!" she announced, smiling a sweet, innocent smile.  
Reeny rolled her eyes. "I bought it because you're the Princess of  
the Silver Star," she said with a smile. "And it just seemed to be...  
appropriate..."  
The gown glittered in the sunlight that flew through the windows.   
Lyra smiled and hugged it close to her chest. "Thank you..."  
Next was Tara's gift, a large book on astronomy and a potted plant  
in a hand-decorated terra-cotta pot. The Shinto girl smiled and blushed   
a little. "Your room needs a bit of greenery," she informed her friend.   
"And the book was just perfect for you..."  
Lastly was a tiny box from Richard. Within was a plain but   
beautiful gold chain. Her breath caught in her throat as she lifted it   
from its bed of cotton and admired it. "It's beautiful..." she managed,   
eyes wide.   
Her boyfriend smiled and took it from her hands. "It's for your   
locket," he told her, taking the locket from the table and stringing it   
onto the gift. Slowly clasping it around her neck, he leaned forward and  
breathed in her soft scent. "Nothing's too good for my Princess..." he   
whispered softly into her ear.  
Blushing, the girl leaned back a bit and smiled to all her   
friends. "Thank you so much for the birthday of my dreams. I've never   
been..."  
"Why, Sailor Polaris, I believe you've missed a present,"   
announced an unseen speaker. A flash of bluish-gray light filled the   
room and everyone gasped as a body appeared in midair.   
Reeny bristled and shook her fist and the gray-garbed woman.   
"Doubt! What the Hell..."  
Dark energies shook the room, throwing a table upside down and   
ripping half of the streamers off the wall. Balloons popped, glass   
shattered, and the walls shook with the sheer force of the blast.  
"Give me the Imperium Silver Crystal!" demanded the Raider, the   
energy still radiating throughout the room. "Give me the Galactic Rod!   
Or DIE!"  
Without a word, Orion sprung into the air and swiped at Doubt with  
her razor sharp claws. The Raider quickly shook the cat off her arm and   
threw her into the wall.   
Lyra felt her body start to shake. Richard was leaning halfway   
over her, trying without much success to shield her from the draining   
energy. The others were already close to unconsciousness, with Reeny,   
Lyra, Celeste, and Richard being the only people awake enough to   
understand the happenings.  
Slowly but carefully, the blonde girl climbed to her feet, holding  
onto one of the young man's shoulders for support. Her blonde, curly   
hair flew about her messily as she rose to her shaking legs. Everything   
hurt, but somehow, she felt the strength raise up inside her. "That is   
well enough," she stated, lowering her shining brown eyes to slits.   
"Princess..." choked the calico cat, her green eyes slowly   
closing. "Fight..."  
A tiny silver glow emitted from the cat's forehead before   
dissipating into the air.  
The teen felt her body tighten. "This is not how it will be,   
Doubt," she managed, her muscles becoming extremely tight as she spoke.   
"We will win. We will triumph."  
"And how," inquired the Raider dryly, "is that?"  
A silver star appeared on Lyra's forehead, glowing with a fierce   
power. Three beams flew from it, engulfing Celeste, Richard and Orion in  
a bright, pure light.   
"Because," shot the blonde, "in the name of the Silver Star, I   
will punish you."  
************  
  
Closing a pair of garnet eyes, she let out a long sigh. "Whoa,"   
she breathed, hand clutching the teacup with white knuckles. "That was   
not supposed to happen..."  
Michelle pulled the bow away from her violin. Alexandra glanced up  
from her sports magazine. Hannah dropped her science book on the floor.   
"What?" the trio inquired in unison.  
The green-haired woman gulped. "There was just a major shift in   
the Time-Space Continuum," she whispered, opening her eyes very slowly.   
"One that I didn't expect to happen."  
"And?" The blonde's voice was rather dry.  
Susan chuckled. "I think we've just found the Silver Star."  
************  
  
Silver.  
Everything was silver.  
A pale glow covered everything, and nothing--not even the still   
bodies of those who she loved--was recognizable to her eyes. All she   
could see was silver.   
Her body was covered in a long dress. The dress was all gold. Her   
hair hung limply around her shoulders, the curls well-tangled and matted  
with sweat. Something smelled sweet in the air.  
Gold.   
A golden glow sparked in what appeared to be the distance. It grew  
closer with every breath she took. But there was no body in the glow.   
Just color.   
Until the last second.  
Garbed all in gold, a girl appeared. She was little more than a   
child, really, hair pulled into a tight twist at the nape of her neck.   
She was dressed in a traditional Sailor fuku, except it was of the   
purest golden color known to man. Clutched in her hands was a staff,   
probably about four feet in height. It was also golden, with a tiny star  
of the same color adorning the top. Her green eyes glittered fiercely as  
she stared directly into the young woman's eyes.   
The silver maiden found her voice. "Celeste?"  
"I have been called many things," responded the girl in a timeless  
voice. "But none is so dear to me as that one name." She paused, one of   
her hands flying to caress the tiny golden star that adorned her   
forehead. "But, my Princess, I am most often called the Keeper of the   
Nebulae."  
The Princess smiled weakly and looked at her sister. "Is it time,   
Celeste?" she inquired softly, eyes half-closed.  
Nodding, the Keeper of the Nebulae waved her staff. "It is."  
************  
  
One minute, the Sailor Scouts were either unconscious or close to   
it. The next minute, there was a blinding flash of silver.  
And, when Doubt opened her eyes, she gasped in complete shock.   
Standing side-by-side were two blonde girls. The older one, with   
curly dark-blonde hair, wore a golden gown. A silver star adorned her   
forehead.  
The child beside her wore a golden Sailor fuku and wielded a huge   
golden staff. Her hair was lighter blonde and pulled up in a twist. A   
golden star was embedded on her forehead.  
And behind them stood the Starlit Prince and Neo-Sailor Moon, both  
looking extremely upset.  
Backing up, Doubt smiled innocently and nervously wrung her hands.  
"Now then, Sailor Scouts..." She gritted her teeth. "I don't suppose we   
could talk about this, could we?"  
A purple rose zipped through the air and past her, landing at her   
feet. The Starlit Prince removed his mask to reveal both two very angry   
cobalt eyes and a silver star upon his own forehead.  
The Raider woman clenched her jaw. "I'll take that as a no..."   
Whirling a hand through the air in a quick circle, she smiled wickedly.   
"BLACK DOOM!"  
A shaft of black wind swirled through the air and quickly   
approached the group of four warriors. The Keeper of the Nebulae   
tightened her grip on the staff and swung it toward the beam of power.  
The wave hit the staff and reversed, hitting Doubt directly in the  
stomach. Screaming, she was thrown back through one of the walls and   
into the courtyard of the temple.  
The Princess of the Silver Star took a step forward, tossing her   
hair slightly as she went. "I will do this," she called to her   
companions, her voice growing timeless. "This will be my triumph."  
Sailor Moon made a face. "She sure got Princessly in a hurry," she  
muttered, red eyes following the teen in the golden gown.  
"Hush, Reeny," scolded the Starlit Prince, chuckling nonetheless.   
"She's a good Princess."  
The Keeper of the Nebulae glanced behind her to the others. "You   
will soon learn," she softly said, "that the truth about the Raiders is   
that they only rely on lies and betrayal." Her green gaze lingered   
longest upon Richard's face. "Go to her, Prince."  
He obliged.  
************  
  
The Angel of the Moon looked down upon the scene with a waning   
interest. "Everything is happening as it should," she smiled, leaning   
back in the air slightly. "I think it will turn out for the best this   
time."  
Below her, a blonde girl stood over a white-haired woman. The   
woman, a Raider, was clambering rather clumsily to her feet while the   
teen glared at her. And the Angel knew that, somewhere, all the other   
Guardians of the world were together, whatever the case may be.  
"So, is that it?" inquired Orion with a yawn, her silver form   
glittering as green eyes stared down upon the Earth. "We let the   
Princess and Prince fight and that's that?"  
Chuckling, the Angel glanced over at the spirit. "I like you   
better as a cat, Orion," she observed with a slight smile.  
The spirit made a face. "Let's everyone pick on the shape-shifter!"   
Smiling once more, the Angel took off into the air. "Good luck!"   
she exclaimed.  
With a shake of what would be her head, Orion sighed. "I think I'm  
going to need it."  
************  
  
Doubt climbed to her feet and glared at the young woman. All of   
her strength was slowly leaving her. It was a showdown. One-on-one. No   
more help, no more unity--just the harrowing, intoxicating high of   
independence.  
And she cleared her throat.  
"They don't love you, you know," she commented coolly toward the   
Princess, smiling smugly. "Real friends would have followed you out no   
matter what."  
Lyra bristled. What on Earth was she talking about?  
"How much could HE possibly love you, Princess? He almost left you  
high and dry just because you were younger! He doesn't care! No one   
cares!" The Raider paused for a brief moment. Her life flashed slowly   
before her. "Others can only bring hurt! Turn away, Princess. You can't  
win! Think of all the hurt and pain that you've been through over the   
past few months!"  
And she did. Everything came into her mind like clockwork. The   
first fight against Illness and Greed. The death of all the previous   
Raiders. The various injuries of Alexandra, Michelle, and Celeste. The   
pain of losing her sister, even for a day.  
But not all her memories were bad. There was the feeling of hope   
in meeting the other Scouts. There was the happiness and love she felt   
with Richard. The power that she felt in seeing little Ambriel. The   
magic that coursed through her veins.  
And Richard did love her.  
He had to.  
"Star..." breathed a soft, deep voice from behind her. Looking at   
Doubt for a long moment, Lyra took a deep breath and glanced back at   
Richard.  
A tear ran down his cheek. And she knew.  
He did love her.  
Princess or not.  
Holding out a hand, the Princess of the Silver Star, ruler of both  
the Star Kingdom and the Earth in the future, winked at her boyfriend.   
"We do this together, instead, okay?"  
He nodded and took her hand.  
Silver.  
Everything was silver.  
Two rays of silver light, both shaped like stars, flowed from two   
foreheads.   
Doubt screamed, but nothing helped. The light collided with her,   
and everything turned silver.  
Silver.  
************  
  
Artemis opened one blue eye and smiled. "Good job," he said aloud,  
hardly moving.  
The voice, feminine and happy, flew through the air. "You think   
so?" it asked of the big cat.  
His smiled grew wider as he closed his eye and prepared to drift   
back to sleep. "I know so."  
************  
  
And thusly, Doubt was no more.  
Six Galactic Sailors, one Keeper of the Nebulae, one Starlit   
Prince, one Angel Moon, and a certain calico cat stood in front of the   
temple, watching the sun set over Tokyo.   
"What now?" inquired Celeste softly, leaning up against a post.   
Tara's response was quick. "We fight the Raider King. He's got to   
be the last one."  
Phoebe raised her eyebrows. "And then what?" she asked sweetly.   
The cat chuckled. "I'm going HOME!" put in Orion.  
************  
  
Galactic Sailors Say!  
  
Strange brown-haired teen: Today, we learned the truth about the Urawa   
family.  
  
(Greg enters, wearing a pink bow in his hair and a frilly pink apron.   
The teen sees this and fades into nothingness. Haley enters.)  
  
Haley: (chuckling) Greg, you DID know that today's first author's   
ramblings was FAKE, didn't you?  
  
Greg: (patting his hair) But I like this style!  
  
(Phoebe runs in, distraught)  
  
Phoebe: I took the time to fold all the towels in the linen closet, and   
now they're all messed up!  
  
(The brown-haired teen giggles offscreen and Terrence appears, wearing a  
judge's robe)  
  
Terrence: I am Judge Brianite! (pulls a gavel out of his pocket) Ta-da!  
  
Haley: (sighing) And what would Susan say?  
  
Susan: (in a business suit) Objection! Leading the witness!  
  
Phoebe: (shaking her head) Today's message is that it's okay to get   
counseling. Believe it or not, it's healthy. And fun!  
  
Greg: (furrowing brow) I never liked to have counseling for my...  
problems...  
  
Haley: (coughs into her fist)  
  
Greg: (makes a face) I was talking about my compulsive spending habits!  
  
Haley: (rolls eyes) Whatever. We all say...  
  
ALL: SEE YA!  
  
-I Know-  
Look around...  
(Tara, sitting next to Queen Serenity, stares up at the night sky)  
So many things aren't clear...  
(Phoebe looks blankly at a math book)  
Don't worry, though...  
(Lyra smiles while picking up her tuba)  
You know that I'll be there...  
(Sailor Pluto and Haley smile knowingly at each other)  
A lot of things are so uncertain...  
(Alice looks sadly at a clock while the sun sets over Crystal Tokyo)  
The future's on its way...  
(Reeny holds the Locket of the Moon, smiling)  
Look at my crying eyes...  
(Luna and Artemis console an upset Diana)  
Don't take your love away!  
(Hannah sighs, looking at a sleeping Haley)  
  
Sometimes, the road looks long...  
(Mina looks at her children with Andrew behind her)  
And sometimes, the world seems wrong...  
(Alex and Michelle smile at one another and then blush deeply)  
But I know, I know, all you need is love.  
(The six girls, untransformed, hold their lockets high)  
  
Sometimes, you feel weak...  
(Lita smoothes the hair of a crying Alice)  
And sometimes, the future looks bleak...  
(Raye and Chad stand behind Tara, who is staring at her locket)  
But I know, I know, all you need is love.  
(The six Galactic Sailors stand in a half circle)  
  
Times will change...  
(Amy looks out of a window and at Crystal Palace)  
People will change, too...  
(Endymion looks at Serenity, who is pouring over a book)  
But deep inside...  
(Lyra hugs Celeste)  
I always will love you...  
(Diana falls asleep on Reeny's lap)  
I suppose there are questions now...  
(Alice and Phoebe stare blankly at one another)  
The answers are so far...  
(Michelle stands in front of the orchestra, talking)  
But look at me and smile now...  
(Tara lovingly hugs her father)  
I am your guiding star!  
(Haley smiles at a studying Hannah)  
  
Sometimes, the road looks long...  
(Mina looks at her children with Andrew behind her)  
And sometimes, the world seems wrong...  
(Alex and Michelle smile at one another and then blush deeply)  
But I know, I know, all you need is love.  
(The six girls, untransformed, hold their lockets high)  
  
Sometimes, you feel weak...  
(Lita smoothes the hair of a crying Alice)  
And sometimes, the future looks bleak...  
(Raye and Chad stand behind Tara, who is staring at her locket)  
But I know, I know, all you need is love.  
(The six Galactic Sailors stand in a half circle)  
  
I know...  
(The Planet Mistresses stand in a circle)  
I know...  
(The Galactic Sailors stand in a circle)  
All you need is love...  
(The Mistresses and Sailors all stand together, holding hands, with   
their eyes closed)  
All you need...is...love...  
(A single purple rose sits in a vase)  
************  
  
First and foremost, if you didn't understand this, read "Appendix: The   
Legend of the Four Kingdoms"! Then, feel free to email me (Kate), at   
duncan@chicago.avenew.com. I will answer all questions. It will, I   
promise, get less confusing as time goes on. This was A LOT of story!  
  
Also, I know that this wasn't all that great this time around. Please  
forgive me. It was fun but also very hard to write.  
  
--Kate and Christina (and Ginnie)  
  



	11. A New Star

A New Star  
  
Author's Ramblings: (to the tune of the song "A Star is Born" from Disney's   
Hercules) Gonna shout it from the mountaintops; story eleven's here. Meet some   
heroes pulling out the stops; eleven's here.  
Okay, song's over.  
Thank you to Lady Toco, who has written music to the entirety of "I Know".   
Ready yet? Get set! Because we're out of here! Enjoy!  
Oh! And read "I Love You, Always Forever" by Andrea Readwolf and Kate Butler!   
It's a collection of great Valentine's stories!  
************  
Last time, on Galactic Sailors...  
  
Lyra, Richard, and Celeste were confronted with their ultimate destinies.   
Orion, the Guardian of the Stars appeared. The first Angel of the Moon appeared.   
There was a bit of Guardian cat animosity between Luna and Orion. Doubt died.  
  
And that, my friends, is where the story begins...  
************  
  
A penny for your thoughts.  
She scoffed at the voice. "You've got really screwed-up timing," she spat,   
eyes opening to become only slits. "What do you want now?"  
Find...  
"I found your stinking Princess!" Orion bristled, her tail puffing slowly   
up. "I found the Prince, the Priestess, the Keeper, the Sailor Scouts AND I found  
my destiny!" She sighed and closed her green eyes. "Please go away."  
The voice sighed for a moment. I was going to suggest, he responded   
softly, for you to find yourself, Orion; I know depression when I see it. There  
was a long pause as she laid her head on her front paws. What's wrong with you?  
Shaking her head a bit, the animal clenched her eyes as tight as possible.   
"I don't know who you are or why you help me," the calico informed him, "but I   
don't care." She let a tear roll down her cheek. "I just want to go home."  
It's not that simple...  
"I know it's not that simple!" she announced, hoping to her feet and pacing  
up and down the floor. "Goddammit, I know how very hard it is!" Orion tossed her   
head. "But that doesn't change my feelings and that doesn't make me happy!"  
There was no sound for a long moment. I'm sorry, Orion, he finally said.  
"Not," responded the cat, "as sorry as I am."  
Footsteps sounded on the carpet and the young man stuck his head inside   
his bedroom. "Are you alright, Orion?" he inquired, running a hand through his   
deep red hair nervously. "I heard you talking to someone."  
The calico cat smiled. A lot could happen in just a few weeks. And now,   
after a bit of fighting and a lot of stress, the Raider King was the only one   
left, and he was making no attempt to defeat the Sailor Scouts.   
"I'm just fine, Richard..." she responded casually, licking a patch of   
white that spotted one of her back paws. "Just a little homesick, I wager."  
Chuckling, he bent down and scratched behind one of her ears. "Please don't  
be homesick, kid," the teen chuckled. "You have us."  
Looking up at him with her green eyes, the cat nodded a bit. "I think   
that," she told him, "that's just enough for now."  
************  
  
Ice-blue eyes lowered toward the thick math book. "But I'm right!" A pencil  
flew across the room, smashing into the nearest wall with a slight cracking   
sound. "When I find the person who invited homework...I'll..." Phoebe paused, a   
devilish smile crossing her face as her voice rose in pitch. Innocently, she   
batted her eyelashes. "I'll take him by the head, and I'll twist and twist and   
twist... Yep, I'll twist it right off, and then you know what I'll do? I'll stick  
his head in a light socket. Yep!" Grinning, she leaned back in her desk chair and  
let her voice return to normal. "That sounds like a good plan..."  
"What are you blathering about this time?" inquired Orb, sashaying into the  
room on padded paws.   
Flipping one of her braids behind her shoulder, the teen smiled. "Not much,  
Orb." She glanced at him, and her expression became thoughtful.  
The cat's normally jovial smile was replaced with a grievous frown as he   
stared past her and out the window. His brow was furrowed, his gold eyes were   
wary and sad, and he breathed softly, exhaling in long, sad sighs.   
"What's wrong?"  
With a slight shake of his head, the Guardian blinked and smiled weakly at   
his blue-haired charge. Truthfully, he'd never seen her happier to be alive. In   
the few weeks that had flown past since the death of Raider Doubt, the girl had   
gotten into another school-wide musical, improved her already stellar grades, and  
joined a district-wide dance team. But she didn't know the truth--the Raider King  
was still alive, and his threat toward the Galactic Sailors and the world was   
immeasurable. "I'm okay, I guess," he sighed, attempting to smile, however fake   
it did look.   
She shook her head, turning to the window. The snow was beginning to melt,   
the browned grass of the backyard poking daringly through the white slush. The   
sun shone brightly, and a soft wind rustled the naked branches of the large oak   
tree. Something about spring was already in the air, despite the fact it was only  
early March. "You're not alright," she responded, still staring outside, watching  
a few sparrows hop about underneath the bird feeder. "Something's bothering you."  
Orb chuckled a bit. The girl knew him too well. "I was just thinking..." he  
muttered, not wanting to trouble her with the truth.  
"About the Raider King?"  
"Yes."  
"And?"  
"And what?"  
"The verdict, Orb."  
Silence filled Phoebe's bedroom as he let out another long sigh and turned   
away from her, staring at the burnt-orange carpeting as he did so. Nothing hurt   
as much as the knowledge that it wasn't over. Nothing felt so wrong as to know   
that, once again, six innocent teenage girls would head into battle and risk   
their lives.  
Dropping out of the chair and to her knees, the girl cocked her head at her  
pet and ran her fingernails up and down his spine, silky fur tickling her hand.   
"What is it, Orb?"  
He shuddered, purring slightly at her gentle touch. "It's not over," Orb   
whispered, closing his large eyes. "There is to be another Meeting of the   
Mistresses tomorrow to decide..."  
"Decide what?" The question broke the impending silence.  
"To decide," he responded gravely, "the fate of the Earth."  
************  
  
Dropping the wrench at her side, Haley let out a labored sigh and leaned   
back on her elbows, the rough metal of the catwalk biting at her skin. "I'm done   
over here!" she called to the amber-haired girl who was re-positioning another   
spotlight at the other end of the theatre. "You done yet, Harmony?"  
The girl, a full three years younger than the brunette, shook her head and   
continued her work. "Not yet, Miss Haley," she responded in a respectful tone,   
eyes narrowing as she pulled the large light up a bit.  
She smiled, wiping the sweat from her brow. Once again, an all-school   
musical had claimed Phoebe Urawa as its leading lady, and once again, Haley was   
up in the school catwalks, spending three hours of her time repositioning lights   
so that the production could go according to plan. Which it, of course, would.  
It had been a peaceful few weeks.  
"Well, I'm going down and grabbing myself a drink," she told the younger   
girl, mounting the ladder with relative ease. "Want anything?"  
Harmony brushed a golden strand of hair from her eyes. "I want," she   
grunted, "to finish this and go home!"  
Chuckling, Haley climbed down the ladder and stretched, walking out onto   
the stage with a large smile on her face as her teal eyes fell on a funny sight.  
Michelle was sitting cross-legged on the edge of the stage, her aquamarine   
hair falling messily into her blue eyes as she sorted through a sea of   
photocopies. "Violin three..." she muttered aimlessly, flipping over a few of the  
papers. "Where the Hell did I put that?"  
Crouching down next to her mother, Haley sniggered. "A principal's work is   
never done, eh?"  
"No, it's not, Haley," responded the founder of the Crystal Music Academy,   
still sifting through the sheets without ever lifting her eyes. "Do you want   
something? Are the lights done? Going home yet?"  
The teen ran a hand through her brown hair. "No. Almost. Pretty soon."   
Picking up one of the papers, she dropped it in her mother's lap. "Violin three."  
She stood and jumped off the platform, starting up the aisle fleetly.   
With a bewildered glance, Michelle stared after her young daughter. "I want  
you home soon," she warned. "Don't stick around here too long tonight."  
Haley stopped in mid-step and whirled around on her heals. "And why not?"   
she questioned, making a face. "Usually, you're happy when I spend a lot of time   
here..."  
"Not tonight," she repeated, stacking several pages together. "I want you   
home for dinner."  
"WHY?" whined Haley, stomping a foot. "We're going out with Terrence again,  
anyway..."  
Her mother's voice was almost inaudible as she gazed at the teen, blue eyes  
piercing the iron will of her child.  
"Because," Michelle said coolly, "there's a meeting of the Mistresses   
tomorrow."  
************  
  
"Another one?" whined the blonde woman, collapsing onto the couch. "It's   
bad enough that we once again have to eat dinner with your boyfriend..." Seeing   
the glared daggers flying toward her, she focused on the television screen and   
brought the red car around a tight corner. "I mean..."  
Susan sighed and stirred her tea. "That's enough out of you, Alexandra,"   
she smiled slightly, resting the saucer on her bloated belly. "I'm not having an   
expressly good day, in case you're not bright enough to notice."  
Pausing the video game just long enough to cock her head to the side and   
consider the pale, drained expression on the pregnant woman's face, Alex screwed   
her face into a rather pathetic half-smile. "Sorry, Suse," she apologized,   
focusing on the floor and then the video game's complex controller. "I don't   
always realize stuff like that, you know?" Shrugging, she started the game back   
up and maneuvered the vehicle over a high jump and over a pile of smashed up car   
parts.   
The Guardian of Time considered this and smiled gently at her blonde   
friend. "I don't think that--out of all the times you've offended me in the last   
thousand or so years--you've ever apologized."  
Alex smiled, still focusing on the game rather than on her companion.   
"Well, there's a first time for everything," she confessed. "I'm just surprised   
it's taken me this long to actually be nice to you."  
Their conversation was interrupted by Hannah padding down the stairs, Lyra   
and Celeste Mokoti in tow. "Auntie Suse?" inquired the young woman, hands thrust   
into her pants pockets as she looked at the adult with thoughtful purple eyes.   
"These two would like to talk with you..."  
Susan sat up to stare at the two blonde sisters. Alex shut off the Nintendo  
system and looked at them as well. Hannah bustled back up the stairs.   
"Ummm...well..." Lyra stared at her socks, nearly afraid to meet the   
Mistresses' gazes. Licking her lips, she took a long breath and glanced slowly   
up. "Celeste would like to know why Serenity called another Meeting of the   
Mistresses," she requested softly, eyebrows knitting together involuntarily.   
The green-haired woman was about to respond, but the smaller Mokoti girl   
stepped forward, crossing her arms across her chest while doing so. "I don't   
think it's fair!" she protested loudly. "We've handled all the other Raiders   
without any help from you grown-ups, so why do we need help now?" She made a   
face, green eyes turning a bit angry as she spoke. "I don't see why you're all so  
afraid of us fighting against a Raider, even if he is the King!"  
Footfalls sounded on the stairs, and Hannah once again emerged from the   
kitchen. "She has a point," she put in, leaning against the doorway as she spoke.  
"It is within their destinies to fight..."  
"No parent," interrupted Alexandra thoughtfully, "likes to see their child   
in danger, and this undoubtedly goes for us Mistresses." She settled further into  
the couch. "For us, death is just an uncharted voyage. But for you..." Her green-  
gray eyes flew to the curly-haired teen and then to the child with the corn-silk   
blonde hair. If they didn't yet understand, would they ever? "If you two were to   
die, it would be the loss of a new life, of a real life; but it's all relative, I  
suppose." She paused and looked to Susan.  
The Guardian of Time closed her wine-colored eyes. "We don't want you to   
die because you Galactic Sailors are our future..." Her voice was soft and   
slightly sad. "We want to protect the world, not end it."  
"But, don't you get it?" asked Celeste softly, receiving a stern glare from  
her older sister. "If we don't at least try to fight, the world will be lost!"   
Her green eyes bore into the two adults as she glared at them. "Peace--real   
peace--can't be obtained unless we fight against evil!" Her tone grew stern and   
adult as she spoke. "It is not as though our lives will be more complete if we   
cower in a corner. We must fight and defend the world; thus is our destiny."   
Turning her back to the two women, she glanced up at Hannah. "At least one of you  
understand. Come, Lyra." Celeste mounted the stairs.  
Managing an apologetic smile, Lyra looked at the two dazed Mistresses. Both  
were gazing after the girl, faces slightly shocked from the adult philosophy the   
six-year-old girl had just spouted. "I'm sorry for her behavior," she smiled   
sheepishly. "I'll be sure to give her a talking to."  
The youngest Mistress shook her head, black hair whipping about her pale   
face. "Don't even bother yourself over what she just did," she commanded, the   
words stern yet sweet at the same time. "She knows something that I think the   
rest of us forgot."  
Rubbing the back of her neck, the blonde teen shrugged and grimaced in   
confusion. "Well, whatever," she smiled, climbing up the stairs. "See you all at   
the meeting tomorrow..."  
As Lyra left, Alexandra glared daggers at her daughter. Hannah still stood   
near the stairs, purple eyes focusing on the melting snow outside. She nervously   
twisted her engagement ring around her finger, ignoring everything and everyone   
around her.  
"Hannah, did you just imply what I think you did?" inquired the tomboyish   
woman, her brow furrowing as she stared at the slim woman.  
Nodding, she started up the stairs herself. "I agree," she told her mother   
and aunt, "with the girl Celeste."  
************  
  
"A Meeting of the Mistresses."  
"Angel!"  
Reeny made a face, glaring across the room at the child. "Hush!" she   
yelped, adjusting her position at the desk and flipping another page in the thick  
book before her. "I'm busy!"  
A sniffle came from the little red-haired girl, who toddled toward the   
teen. Her socks slipped on the marble of the floor, and she landed on her bottom,  
hollering.  
"What now?" growled the Princess of the Earth, turning her seat to look at   
a certain bawling two-year-old. Of course, nothing could go right for so much as   
a day inside of Crystal Palace. Reeny had discovered early that morning things   
such as: her private tutor was taking a 'day off', the cleaning staff in charge   
of washing clothing had gone on strike and left her without much clean clothes,   
and that her handmaiden Lisa--the only other person in what was seemingly all of   
Tokyo who could control Ambriel--was down with a bad case of the flu. And, to   
make already awful matters worse, there was a Meeting of the Mistresses hanging   
over her head. She felt as though the Meeting was looming over her whilst she sat  
staring at the crying girl, shaking its vile Mistress-empowering fist at her as   
she just sighed. "I'm sorry, Ambry," she cooed, getting up and walking over to   
the child, smoothing the too-big skirt of her only clean Princess gown as she   
went. "I'm just having a rotten day."  
"Angel Moon," croaked the child, clambering to her feet and clutching at   
Reeny's legs. "Angel, angel, Moon. Meeting good. Destiny good. Fight bad. Sailors  
good." She smiled sweetly. "Up?"  
The teen ran a shaking hand through one of her thick pink pigtails. She'd   
found in the last few weeks that Ambriel was capable of saying a wide range of   
words and usually did so, speaking almost in code. Scooping up the little one,   
Reeny thought aloud. "So then... The Meeting of the Mistresses is a good thing.   
And our destinies are all good. But the fighting is bad. And the Sailors are   
good..."  
"Mommy MAKE Sailors good." Ambriel laid her head on her the Princess'   
shoulder, gray eyes half-closed as she nestled close to the soft silk that her   
'mommy' wore. "No matter what Mistress say; Mommy and Sailors good."  
Staring down at the little girl, Reeny felt a shiver run down her spine and  
involuntarily drew Ambriel closer to her chest, allowing a startled gasp to   
escape her lips. Something about Ambriel... Something was so mysterious and all-  
knowing that it frightened even the Princess of the Earth. And Reeny was not   
easily frightened.  
A rather stout handmaiden peeked her head in through the doorway and   
scowled at the dazed young woman. "Hey, Princess," growled the woman, her head of  
gray hair bobbing almost obnoxiously as she spoke. "You're to be at Cherry Hill   
in ten minutes. Are you listening to me?"  
Reeny rolled her red eyes and stroked the child's hair, glaring at the   
woman. "You shouldn't be so indignant in the presence of the Princess," she spat,  
placing Ambriel on the bed just long enough to slip on her thick coat.  
"You try an' stop me," shot the rude handmaiden, stepping into the room and  
seizing the red-haired child out of Reeny's arms. "I'll be sure an' put 'er down   
for 'er nap."  
Red eyes flashed dangerously. "Ambriel is to come with me," argued the   
young woman, holding open her arms to take the child back. "You'll give her to me  
right now."  
"I ain't doing anything like that," shot back the woman, brown eyes   
lowering toward the royalty before her. "You may be the Princess an' all, but you  
sure don't act like a you be a Princess."  
Squirming, Ambriel reached for Reeny. "Angel!" she cried, eyes brimming   
with tears.  
The Princess narrowed her eyes, clenching her fists in anger. "I am the   
Princess of the Earth, and I command you to give her here!" She stomped a foot on  
the ground. "Ambriel is my responsibility, and I command..."  
"When your little buddy, Lisa, ain't here, missy," spat the stranger in a   
condescending tone, "you be my charge an' you'll do as I say." She glanced down   
at the upset child in her arms. "I don't even see what be so great about this   
here little foundling. She be more trouble than she be worth." She pinched   
maliciously at the baby's chubby arms. "Yep. More trouble than she be worth, this  
little brat is..."  
"ANGEL!" yelped the child as two fingers once again pinched her arm.  
Ambriel's scream echoed in her ears as Reeny took a deep breath. Pulling   
back her fist, she punched the older woman square in the nose. The stranger   
stumbled slowly backward, grip on the child loosening as she struggled to stay on  
her feet. The Princess snatched away the little redhead, receiving a tight hug as  
a reward.  
The handmaiden lowered her eyes. "You little wretch!" she gasped, examining  
the blood that her hand had caught. "You're no Princess!" Her eyes turned into   
vengeful slits, the sunlight that flowed through the windows hiding her in the   
shadow of the canopy bed. "You be nothing more than a little whore who..."  
"Out." Reeny's tone was dry. "Or I will hit you again." Stepping quickly   
forward, she pulled the paper identification badge from around the woman's neck   
and ripped it in half. "From this moment on, you are nothing in the eyes of   
Crystal Palace. You have been fired."  
"You can't fire me!" she protested, outraged.  
Pushing the woman out the door in front of her, the Princess of the Earth   
smiled broadly and winked at the ex-handmaiden. "I just did," she smiled before   
starting down the hallway.  
************  
  
Leaning back in her chair, Alice yawned and stretched out her long arms.   
"Where's Haley and Pheebs?" she inquired sleepily, blinking while looking to the   
three present Scouts for the answer.  
Tara shrugged, vibrant green eyes never leaving the notebook in front of   
her. "I really don't know," she admitted, turning the page and continuing her   
reading. "But we do need to discuss the Meeting of the Mistresses."  
The blonde teen glanced nervously at her watch. "I'm more worried about   
Reeny," she said, chewing on her lower lip. "She promised to be here early."  
"Therein lies the problem," joked the little Scout, rolling onto her   
stomach and kicking her legs idly as she studied the tan carpeting of the   
Temple's living room. "You're not supposed to believe Reen when she says she's   
going to be on time!" Bright eyes glancing up at her friends, Celeste sighed and   
her shoulders slouched. "But I still don't think they should have called a   
Mistress Meeting."  
"I'm with you on that one!" came Phoebe's chipper voice as she pranced into  
the room, laden with a large stack of papers and a wild-eyed grin. "It's our job   
to fight!"  
Lyra considered this. "But, still..."  
The Shinto girl sat up a bit, slowly closing her notebook and running a   
long forefinger over the scrawling script on the cover. "I agree," she stated.   
"It's our destiny, and we must save the world from all evil."  
"It was part of our vows as a Galactic Sailor," put in Alice with a rather   
thoughtful scowl. "And even I can't argue with that."  
"But, look at the big picture, guys," protested the curly-haired girl with   
a scowl. "If we die fighting, what good will it do?"  
Phoebe raised two blue eyebrows. "And, if we don't fight," she argued,   
slumping against the wall, "then the Raider King takes over without any fuss."  
Alice nodded in agreement. "We've got at least TRY."  
"Yes," ventured Tara. "The best thing that happens when we fight is that we  
win. What's the best possibility if we cower?"  
"Well... I just don't think we should fight!" challenged Lyra haughtily,   
raising her voice for what seemed to be the first time in weeks. "It's so   
dangerous and the odds are so few that we could win..."  
Footfalls sounded on the steps outside, and a few muffled prayers and   
greetings were exchanged outside before the door was thrown open and three   
familiar teens and a little child with a bright mop of red hair entered the   
living room. "Arguing already?" queried a beaming Haley, wiggling her sock-  
covered toes. "I thought you'd wait for the rest of us."  
Sighing, Alice shook her head. "It's about the Meeting of Mistresses," she   
told the newcomers in a dry tone. "We don't know what side we're on."  
"What's a Meeting of Mistresses?" asked Richard, pushing up his glasses as   
he crossed the room and settled himself on the couch next to his curly-haired   
girlfriend. "I know you've mentioned them before."   
Placing Ambriel on the floor and removing the little girl's thick coat,   
Reeny smiled for a fleeting moment before collapsing next to her little   
foundling. "It's when our parents--the Planet Mistresses--meet and discuss the   
fate of the Earth." She shook her head, breathing in the warm, sweet scent that   
the Cherry Hill Temple had always possessed--the smell of cherry blossoms in   
bloom.   
Furrowing his brow, Richard wrapped an arm around Lyra and pulled her   
close. "Why is that the basis of an entire argument?"  
"To fight, or not to fight," bellowed the blue-haired dramatist in a deep,   
severe British accent. "That is the question! Whether it 'tis nobler to..." She   
trailed off, feeling the stare of sixteen eyes fly toward her. Smiling sweetly,   
she bowed deeply.   
Alice chuckled. "You're a ham at heart, aren't you?  
She was about to respond when she felt Tara's lightly green eyes lower to a  
glare in her general direction. Claming up, she looked at the ceiling with her   
ice blue eyes and let the retort slip off her tongue.  
"The question is really not whether or not to fight," explained the Shinto   
with a long sigh. "It's whether or not the Mistresses have the authority to stop   
us." Growing silent for a brief moment, she smiled sadly and shook her head.   
"And, though we all have both the capability and the power to fight, it comes   
down to the mere question: do we want to?" She glanced warily at the curly-haired  
teen, her face purely blank as she looked to her blonde friend. "And I think that  
we--most of us, at least--want to."  
Hardly acknowledging the warm embrace of her beloved, Lyra tossed her dark   
blonde curls about her face, violently shaking her head back and forth. "I'm NOT   
fighting!" she announced once again, narrowing her eyes at the rest of the   
Galactic Sailors. "You can fight, if you'd like," she continued sternly, voice   
cold, "but I just want to be a normal teenager. End of story."  
The others were all about to respond in a motley of various yelps when   
Celeste held up a hand, silencing them. With a swift movement of her left hand,   
the golden staff that represented the Keeper of the Nebulae appeared beside her,   
floating a bit above the ground. "First, SISTER..." She lowered her usually happy  
green eyes and glared at the teen who was truly the Princess of the Stars, "I   
would like to remind you that there are greater destinies in the world than that   
of the Galactic Sailors. We are all destined to rule the world."  
"Celeste..." warned Richard, seeing his girlfriend's face drain of all   
color.   
The other young women watched as the littlest Scout continued.  
"But we have worked hard, Princess Lyra," she preached, a faded gold star   
sparkling on her forehead. "And, when you accepted the vow of being a Sailor   
Soldier, you accepted the challenge..."  
"The horror..." Phoebe chewed on her lower lip in a reflective gesture.  
"The pain..." Smiling, Haley toyed with one of her brown strands of hair.  
"The beauty..." Tara drew her knees to her chin.  
"The wonder..." The Princess of the Earth kissed the top of Ambriel's   
red-topped head.  
"And the power..." put in a rather thoughtful Alice, folding her hands   
across her lap.  
Smiling, the Keeper of the Nebulae brushed a long, straight blonde hair   
from her eyes, still staring at her eldest sister. "Yes," she proudly grinned,   
"yes. We accepted being Sailor Soldiers." She held out a hand. "Do not turn your   
back on the world, Lyra."  
She shook her head slowly, her feverish negation growing faster and faster   
as she clenched her brown eyes shut. "There is no hope!" she screamed, pounding   
at the couch with her fists. "There is no such thing as hope! Everything that   
happens will just kill us! We will die!"  
"No, we won't," argued Richard, drawing her sobbing form to his chest and   
tightening his grip around her. "We will win. You'll see."  
Lyra continued crying. "I don't want to die..."  
Her hardened features turning pleasant, the child knelt down in front of   
Lyra and Richard. "And, if we don't fight..."  
"Then we won't have so much as a chance to live," supplied Alice in a   
quiet, serene tone. "You've got to fight."  
"Death cannot hold fear for such as us," the young man told her, kissing   
the top of his love's head whilst smoothing her curly hair. "We have to fight   
on."  
Reeny chuckled a bit. "Don't think the rest of us don't understand," she   
begged of the sobbing girl, amused yet sympathetic at the same time. "I've fought  
against indescribable monsters, and yet I still feel a lump in my throat like   
time and memorial."  
Nodding in agreement, Tara chewed on her lower lip, staring at the   
bittersweet scene that spread out before her. Richard held Lyra tightly in a pair  
of loving arms while she sobbed without feeling any relief to her sorrow. In   
front of the couple, on her knees, was a six-year-old girl who obtained within   
her mind more wisdom than the rest of them combined. Spread variously about the   
room were the other four warriors, each with their own, private emotion upon   
their faces: Phoebe was pensive, Alice was sympathetic, Haley was somber, Reeny   
was amused but understanding at the same time. It was a sad sight, broken only   
from the soft words of the oldest Sailor Scout.  
"I know that I'm not the nicest, trendiest, smartest, or most dramatic of   
all of us in this room," volunteered Haley Ten'ou, her solemn expression turning   
into a rather hopeful smile, "but I would like to say something that can never   
leave here."  
The others all looked expectantly at her, and the brunette grinned broadly.  
"But, I know this," she continued. "I love each and every one of you that   
sit before me. I've loved you since the day I knew about our destinies, and I've   
always knew that this day would come; that, at one time, we'd all sit in this   
room and realize the truth. We are weak." Teal eyes closed partially as the teen   
laid back in the chair she had taken and bit her lip. "We are only human, and we   
all know it. The only hope we have is to fight with the Mistresses while fighting  
against them."  
Two pink eyebrows flew upward, only to knit themselves together. "Excuse   
me?" inquired Reeny, confused.  
Ambriel stared sweetly at Haley with two gray eyes. "Mommy MAKE Sailors   
good."  
Grinning, Haley glanced at the little child who was amusing herself with a   
stuffed animal. "That's right," came the delighted reply. "Well, sort of. We just  
have to make them see our ways, sort of like we did for Lyra here."  
The blonde Scout pulled her head from Richard's chest to look the brunette   
in the eyes. "Do you have a point?" she inquired dryly.  
"Yes, I do," she assured them. "We can get them all to understand... And to  
help."  
"And if they don't?" asked Alice softly, her voice wavering.  
Silence fell over the room as everyone stared at one another. Outside, the   
bright early-spring sun flew behind a dark, imposing cloud.  
Once again, Celeste's tone grew tenacious and timeless. "Then," she   
resolved darkly, "we are doomed."  
************  
  
"I called you all here for a reason," he said.  
And you know, somehow, what it is, he told one of his companions   
secretly.  
"But I wish to gain your approval more than your separate loves," he   
continued softly, voice unusually bleak. "I've already got the latter of the   
two..."  
The blue skies of March sparkled over the city of Crystal Tokyo as four of   
the five Guardians of the Galactic Sailor Soldiers sat upon the Kino balcony.   
Dark, imposing clouds loomed in the distance, threatening to end the glorious   
reign of the sun. Three crescent moons and a single silvery star flashed in the   
bright light before the glowing ball of energy slipped behind a cloud.   
Orion drew in a deep breath. "I can feel it running through my veins," she   
whispered, shivers running up and down her spine. "There are powerful evil forces  
nearby."  
The two other young cats both nodded at her words, though they sat on the   
complete opposite side of the little ledge. She was still an alien being to them.  
She would never, truly, belong as a Guardian Cat. She was just Orion. The odd   
foreigner that was a threat--and little more than that--to the sovereign rule of   
the Moon Cats.  
Artemis stood slowly, his white fur ruffled slightly by the crisp spring   
breeze. "Do you know what they say about the month of March?" he inquired softly,  
blue eyes a bit sad. "They say it comes..."  
"In like a lion, out like a lamb," stated Diana in a meditative tone, her   
words echoing across the balcony and into the sweet, warm air. "I don't get   
it..."  
The white cat smiled gently. "Your treatment of Orion has been thus far,"   
he continued solemnly, breathing in all the tastes and smell of the wonderful   
city, "like the way a lion would act." He glared at his two children. "I expect   
you to start acting like lambs."  
Making a face, the pink cat stuck her nose into the air. "But Father," she   
protested smugly.  
"I don't want excuses," shot the oldest cat angrily. "I want results."  
Orb nodded, remaining wisely silent.  
"And now, for grave news." Artemis closed his azure eyes slowly, the moon   
upon his forehead glowing brightly and literally floating in midair. "I have   
three choices right now: To give my powers to either of my children or to Orion."  
Taking a long breath, he focused all his energy into the glowing mass that was   
once a brand of power. "And thus, I give it to Orion."  
The gold swallowed the strange calico cat in its brilliance. The glow was   
blinding, rivaling the absent sun in its beauty and depth. It was all she could   
do to close her eyes, least the brightness blind her.   
Orb and Diana stared, both surprised and horrified at the sight before   
them. He was their father! How could he bestow upon the stranger his   
Guardianship? It was none of Orion's business.  
When the shining died down, the big white cat smiled sadly and allowed   
himself to look out on the city of Tokyo. Though he could not see it, he knew   
that the once brilliant spot of gold upon his brow was now replaced with new,   
white fur. No longer could it be seen or understood that he was a Moon Cat.  
For he no longer was.  
"Do you understand?" he questioned hoarsely of his two children. "Do you   
understand what I did?"  
Diana ignored him, but the younger of the two Moon Cats smiled sadly,   
honey-colored eyes focused on the dazed calico. "You love her as much as you love  
us, don't you?" Orb grinned happily, padding over to Orion on soft white paws.   
"My name is Orb, and I'm a Moon Cat."  
She knotted her eyebrows. "What on Earth are you talking about?"  
"Didn't change her attitude," snorted the pink animal.  
Green eyes flashed angrily, but the calico avoided starting an argument   
with either of the two Moon Cats. Looking across the city and to the vast expanse  
of the Pacific Ocean. What waited for her out in the world now that she had the   
power of two Guardians? What cruel fate dangled before her?   
She sighed. "It's starting, isn't it?" she inquired softly, eyes growing   
sad as she dared not look to any of the other cats.  
Artemis nodded solemnly. "It is."  
************  
  
Looking at the menu, Haley made a face and glared at the buxom blonde   
waitress. "I don't suppose you have anything without meat in it," she muttered in  
a low tone.  
The stranger stared at her with rapt interest. "Excuse me?"  
With a chuckle, Terrence grew slightly red and promptly snatched away the   
teen's menu. "She'll have a large salad and a bowl of broccoli soup," he informed  
the woman, handing the object to her. "Thanks."  
The steakhouse was rather smoky and loud as the seven sat around the large   
table in relative silence. No matter what relation they had toward the   
Mistresses, each of the diners knew the truth--there was trouble brewing deep   
within the bowels of peace.  
But they didn't want to talk about it.  
"So..." prompted Brian nervously, fidgeting in his seat. "How about that   
race last night, Miss Alex?"  
Shrugging, the blonde leaned back in her chair. "If I hadn't been helping   
you and my daughter pick out a silly wedding theme," she spat in an annoyed yet   
playful tone, "I could have watched it."  
"You should have seen it!" announced Terrence happily. "Nakarauma was like   
ZOOM! And WOOSH! And then..." Susan dug her long fingernails into the back of his  
hand and he paled, trailing off in both embarrassment and pain.  
An uneasy silence fell across the table as they all swallowed the various   
lumps in their throats. The knowledge of the Mistress Meeting hung over their   
heads, like a dark cloud before a storm.  
Gingerly sipping her water, Michelle glanced at Susan and Terrence with a   
sweet--and slightly jealous--gleam in her bright blue eyes. "Have you guys picked  
out baby names yet?" she asked pleasantly.  
"Not again..." drawled Alex and Haley in a startling unison that reminded   
all of the frightening similarities between the mother and her adopted child.  
The Guardian of Time shrugged. "You'd be surprised how odd his taste in   
names is," she sighed with a wry grin, eyes focusing on the tabletop rather than   
on the musician.  
"And what's wrong with the name Pyrah?" he inquired innocently, his   
response prompting the others to chortle. "I think it's cute!"  
Haley snorted. "It would be appropriate for the child of Mars, maybe..."   
she mumbled under her breath dryly, running a hand through her slightly amorphous  
hair.   
Snorting, Terrence tossed his head indignantly. "Well, SHE wants to name   
the babies Aeris and Skye if they're girls!" he retorted loudly. "What kind of   
names are Aeris and Skye?"  
Michelle sighed wistfully. "I always wanted Haley's middle name to be   
Skye..." She sent a playful glare at Alex.  
"Hey, I thought Haley Jordan fit better!" protested the blonde.   
"Fits her personality a lot better," pointed out Brian, pushing up his   
glasses. "Sounds authoritative yet fun--like two people in one body..."  
His fiancée nodded in agreement, clutching his hand in hers. "The Soldier   
of the Comets," she smiled sadly, purple eyes blinking back a few hidden tears.  
The others froze and looked at her in a slight state of doubt. No one knew   
quite what to say in response to her comment, and the silence was heavy as the   
eight all stared at each other. Finally, a pair of teal eyes alit with a strange   
power.  
"We need to talk about this!" announced Haley unexpectedly, bringing her   
fist down onto the table with a bang. Water splashed out of the glasses and onto   
the white tablecloth. "It's not like this is politically incorrect or anything!"   
None of the others dared to make eye contact with Haley as she ranted. "This   
meeting is bothering all of us and we can't even talk about it..."  
Alex shrugged noncommittally. "What's there to talk about?" she questioned   
rhetorically, running a hand through her short hair. "Tomorrow, we decide the   
fate of the world. And that fate is that the Galactic Sailors do NOT fight   
against the Raider King and we, as Mistresses, cast a protective spell over out   
planet."  
With a glare aimed toward her mother, Hannah scoffed. "That's impractical,"  
she observed cynically, making a face. "What's the point of having the Galactic   
Sailor Scouts if you're just going to put up a barrier?"  
The other three Mistresses glanced nervously at one another, color draining  
out of their faces simultaneously.   
The younger of the two sisters nodded enthusiastically. "And how long will   
you guys last?" She clicked her tongue against her teeth. "I mean, a barrier of   
that magnitude would be like Hell to maintain."  
"Smart kid," mumbled Terrence, leaning back into his chair and sipping his   
water idly. Green eyes focused on the goings-on with rapt interest as he raised a  
brown eyebrow toward Brian.  
The blonde man nodded in agreement. "Very smart."  
"I don't care what your personal opinion is!" shot Alexandra, darting to   
her feet and leaning forward across the table. "We are the Mistresses and you are  
the Scouts. We overrule you, no matter what the cost." She lowered her green-gray  
eyes. "Do not argue with us."  
"Alex..." breathed Michelle in a low tone, eyes teary. "Please..."  
Susan shook her head of green hair slowly, nudging her glasses up on her   
nose. Her garnet eyes flew from one contender to the other, a thoughtful   
expression on her face. Haley was upset and fiery; her elder sister was a bit   
more melancholy and adult about it. Michelle was emotional, Alex was angry, and   
the two men... As always, they stood on the sidelines, ready to give their   
appropriate companion the needed support.   
The youngest member of the group pulled her coat from the chair's back and   
tossed her head daringly. "I've had enough of this," she told them, tugging on   
the jacket and glaring teal eyes at all of them. "And I am very ashamed of the   
way you're all acting."   
Hannah's facial expression turned from annoyed to outraged. "I'm on your   
side this time!" she roared, people glancing at her sideways from other tables   
within the restaurant. "How dare you even talk to me like that!" Standing quickly  
up, she raised her arm and aimed the back of her hand toward Haley's left cheek.  
"Don't even..." warned Brian, jumping up as well.  
Effortlessly catching her sister by the wrist, Haley pushed her away and   
shook her head. "I'm not criticizing you for once," she put in, placing the palm   
of her hand against her sister's and pressing their fingers perfectly together.   
"This is my turn to tell you how much I love you."   
With a gasp, two already large purple eyes filled with heartfelt tears.   
"Just remember I'm on your side, Haley," she managed before beginning to cry.  
The teen turned around and considered the words. "I think you always were,"  
she smiled before starting out the door.  
************  
  
"What should we do?" inquired the Raider King.  
The Chamber of Spirits was dark as footfalls paced back and forth across   
the marble floor. The echoes carried from the cool, black floor and up to the   
vaulted ebony ceilings as the man bit his lower lip and furrowed his brow in   
concentration.  
Only two points of the seven-pointed star were still alit with the glow of   
gems. A crimson gem and a silver gem.  
The voice, the Spirit of Silver, spoke.  
"There is always a way to the Sailors hearts," he called out loudly, voice   
radiating throughout the room. "But you must also conquer the Mistresses."  
The King nodded. "A two in one deal," he pondered aloud with a slight   
smile. Freezing in mid-step, his red yet lifeless eyes sparked in slight   
disappointment. "But, what of home?" he inquired of the strange being. "What has   
happened to the Andromeda Galaxy?"  
The Spirit paused. "There are but three starships remaining," he confided   
in a softer tone. "We must take over Earth! We must!"  
He considered this. "Well, all humans are weak and have private fears,   
right?" he asked, not waiting or expecting a response. "What if we drew upon   
their fear--made them face the one thing they loathe most?"  
The Spirit just laughed evilly, and the Raider King knew the answer.  
************  
  
The doorbell rang.   
And rang.  
And rang...  
Stretching, she wiped her brow with her favorite white towel while mounting  
the steps up from the basement. "Coming!" she called, adjusting the burnt-orange   
leotard's straps. "Hang on!"  
The sound continued.  
Phoebe groaned aloud, brushing her fingers through her matted, sweaty blue   
bangs. "Are you deaf? Hang on!"  
"Pheebs, hurry!" pleaded a muffled, wavering voice from behind the front   
door. "It's me, Haley!"  
Her brow furrowing, the teen threw open the door, and ice blue eyes quickly  
focused on the sight before her.  
Haley's normally bright teal eyes were bloodshot and teary; two porcelain   
cheeks were stained from crying. Her short-cropped brown hair was a messy mass,   
and she looked a wreck--jacket falling off, pants muddy, tennis shoes liberally   
covered in dirt and snow. "Can I come in?" she inquired meagerly, face begging   
for acceptance.  
"What happened?" gasped Phoebe, holding the door wide open as her friend   
kicked off her shoes and hobbled into the house, limping noticeably. "You look a   
wreck!"  
The other nodded slightly. "Let's just say that the Meeting of Mistresses   
is causing Hell in my household."  
Wincing at the swear, the blue-haired teen let her friend lean on her   
shoulder as they hobbled together into the kitchen. "My mother hasn't shown up   
yet," mentioned Phoebe, slipping a bit in her toe-shoes. "I wonder why..."  
"Did I catch you at a bad time?" Haley took notice of the leotard, ballet   
shoes, and towel that the other proudly wore.  
"Nah. I was just practicing for the regional dance tryouts. They start on   
Friday."  
A heavy silence filled the room as the brunette collapsed in a kitchen   
chair and let her labored breathing return to normal. Her left ankle was swelled   
to twice its average size and she grimaced as her companion cuffed the pant leg   
and placed an ice pack on it.  
"You ran all the way here?"  
Haley glanced at Phoebe and forced herself to smile. "We were at the   
steakhouse on 23rd Street," she admitted warily. "I had no choice."  
"Is it that bad?" asked the other, eyebrows rising in curiosity. Getting an  
odd, confused look from the other, Phoebe elaborated. "I mean, living with the   
Outers and all... Is it all that awful?"  
The brunette shook her head slowly. "No. In fact, it's just my parents."  
"Parents can be heck," agreed the blue-haired Scout. She paused, staring at  
her hands. "Why... Why did you come here?"  
Smiling, Haley patted her friend on the shoulder. "I knew that, out of all   
the Scouts, you would understand the best." She winked. "And you do."  
Another moment of silence fell across the room, but this one was much more   
comfortable. Phoebe pressed the icepack gently onto the swelled ankle of her   
friend and smiled sadly, staring at the floor reflectively. "You know what?" she   
inquired, eyes a bit sad as they sparkled in understanding. "I always thought   
that you're the tough Scout and that you'd kick all our butts..."  
"And?" Haley's eyebrows raised as she asked the question.  
The younger teen smiled and shrugged. "I think that we're all really human   
on the inside," she returned pensively. "And I think that's what the Mistresses   
don't understand about us..."  
Her companion paused, considering these words as she stared out of the   
kitchen's glass door and at the star-studded night sky. "I think you're right,"   
she responded, folding her hands on her lap and slowly closing her eyes. "I   
really think you're right."  
************  
  
"Angel!"  
She groaned in her sleep and rolled over, ignoring the child's cry.   
"Princess, it's time to get up!"  
She covered her head with the over-sized pillow.  
"Reeny!"  
Something sharp dug into her shoulder blade, and she yelped, jumping out of  
bed and tossing her attacker to the marble floor. Red eyes glared at the pink   
animal as the Princess of the Earth crossed her arms over her chest, wrinkling   
her powder-blue pajamas. "Well, well, well," she smirked with a shake of her   
head. "What do we have here?" One sock-clad foot rose a few feet above the   
ground. "It appears to be a naughty cat..."  
Diana grumbled and rolled out from under Reeny's threatening foot, standing  
slowly. "You have a Scout meeting in a few hours," she informed the teen.  
Blanching, Reeny fluffed one of her pigtails and batted her eyelashes. "I   
knew that," she protested a bit guiltily.   
"Well, whether you knew or not," put in Lisa, dropping a large stack of   
sheets on one of the pink-upholstered couches, "you still have a Scout Meeting."  
Ambriel nodded, glancing up from her collection of stuffed animals with   
bright, sparkling gray eyes. "Mistress Meeting," she cooed with a large grin.  
The Princess stretched over to touch her toes and smiled contentedly as she  
slowly woke up. "What's the game plan?"  
"Simple," the handmaiden responded, tugging one of the familiar white-and-  
gold Princess gowns out of the large closet. "You Scouts want to fight."  
"And the Mistresses?"  
"Won't let you," came a strong voice from the doorway. All eyes turned to   
focus on Terrence, who leaned against the frame of the great marble door. "But   
you really do want to fight, don't you guys?" Green eyes glittered as his niece   
nodded enthusiastically. With a slight smile, he smoothed his khakis and winked.   
"And you will, so don't even worry."  
Making a face, the cat sighed and shook her head. "Don't be so sure,   
Terrence," she retorted coolly, leaping onto the bed in a deft, smooth motion.   
"After all, there's always the chance that they'll forbid the girls from doing   
what they do best."  
With a sigh, Lisa smiled gently. "I hope they don't choose to make the   
girls give up the fight," she said plainly. "They've waited their whole lives for  
this."  
"Angel Moon," added Ambriel in her sweet voice.  
Reeny shrugged and played with the hem of her pajama top. "Well, whatever   
the case may be," she sighed, glancing at her uncle thoughtfully, "I just hope we  
can protect the Earth in the way we were meant to."  
They all nodded in silent agreement.  
************  
  
The sunlight fell onto her pale face as she sat on the pillows of the   
window seat, staring out at the familiar front yard. The yard that she'd stared   
at since she was a mere infant.  
But things had changed. She'd changed. The only thing that remained anymore  
were the friendly, faded tan pillows and the smooth, white-painted wood of the   
window seat. The same window seat that she'd first sat in when she was six years   
old and had received a bad note from her teacher for being disruptive. Since   
then, it had been her 'thinking place'--the place where she so oft sat to   
reflect.  
The appearance of her eternally-young mother had not frightened nor shocked  
her in the least. Maybe it was true that the Anderson genes ran thick when it   
came down to personality matters; the Mistresses always found it in their hearts   
to point out the odd similarities between mother and daughter.  
And thus Amy stood outside the house, sitting on the pine park bench that   
she and Greg had built with their child during one long and exceptionally dull   
summer. It had kept them busy for weeks on end, never once allowing them to   
realize the boredom that hovered so nearby. And Amy sat upon it, blue eyes   
staring out at the old blacktop street that had forever stretched from Crystal   
Palace to Crystal Hospital and back.   
Sighing, Phoebe glanced at her mother's still form. Who knew what was going  
through the woman's head as the seconds until the Meeting of Mistresses ticked   
away? No one truly could guess except Amy. Guilt washed across the girl's   
conscience. The fear and hurt of allowing your child--the single most important   
thing in your life--rush off to a battle that they may not live through.  
"What's going on?" inquired a voice she was well accustomed to.   
Phoebe's ice-colored eyes never wavered, but she smiled at her friend   
anyway. "I just now realized how hard this must be for them."  
A head outside the house turned to face the picture windows, and Amy's   
bloodshot navy eyes gazed longingly at her child as though the girl was   
completely out of reach.   
And perhaps she was.  
Haley sighed and crossed her arms over her chest as she watched the   
Mistress stand and pace slowly toward the window. Perhaps Phoebe and the rest of   
the Scouts were untouchable ideals in a sort of mixed up way; they were the   
Galactic Sailor Scouts, and they would either save or end the world.   
Without words, Amy wiped a tear from under her left eye and placed her hand  
on the pane of glass, pressing her palm up against its cool surface while   
constantly staring into her daughter's ice blue eyes. The world seemed to slow in  
its merry dance around the sun as the teenager took her own right hand and pushed  
it up against the window, the two hands touching through the pane of glass.  
"I love you," mouthed Amy to her child, pulling her hand away from the   
window.  
"And I, you," her daughter responded aloud, choking on the words.  
There was a flash of pale blue light and the Mistress was gone, leaving   
only two wet footprints under the window.  
Rising quickly to her feet, Phoebe Solaria Urawa took a deep breath and   
turned to her friend, not attempting to hide the tears that streamed down her   
pink cheeks. "The time has come," she announced sternly, "to fight or be killed."  
"Are you sure?" questioned Haley in a timid voice, teal eyes considering   
her companion carefully.  
The younger of the two nodded. "The chance of us dying in this fight is   
high," she breathed, glancing over her shoulder and back out at the yard. Green   
grass was poking up out of the muddy ground, promising renewal and hope. "In   
fact, some of us jut might die." She tossed a dark blue braid behind her. "But,   
we've just got to hope that the new star will come again."  
Haley's frown turned into a soft, passive smile as she ran a hand through   
her short hair. Looking up at the gray clouds that were slowly descending upon   
Tokyo, she took a deep breath. "The new star will come again," she repeated   
thoughtfully, biting her upper lip as she shook her head. "Or else we die."  
And the ring of truth in that statement frightened even her.  
************  
  
"Mom!" Alice tugged on the ratty blue jeans as she hobbled into the living   
room. Once again, her one ankle had swollen up to an abnormal size. It had been,   
of course, months since they'd faced Death and Greed at Cherry Hill, but her   
ankle was a constant source of pain and grief. "My ankle is once again..." She   
trailed off, and brown eyes flew to glance at her mother.  
Hair falling haphazardly around her shoulders and down to her waist, Lita   
looked a wreck. Her shirt was only tucked halfway into the long green skirt, and   
one of her shoes was discarded on the floor instead of being worn on her feet.   
Tears streamed down her cheeks as she cradled her chin in her hands. Green eyes   
focused on a certain strand of green-and-pink glass beads. "I don't want to do   
this, Ally," she managed in a soft, shaky voice, not looking up. "I'm afraid of   
what could happen if you lose..."  
Kneeling on the floor beside her mother, Alice brushed a long brown strand   
of hair from the woman's face. "You do realize that everything is going to be   
perfectly fine, right?" The rhetorical question caught the brunette adult's   
attention. "What's the worst that can happen?" The teen smiled impishly. "If we   
were to lose, the whole world would go down with us. And, if we win..."  
Lita chuckled and then shook her head quickly. "I should scold you for that  
one," she returned sharply, pulling her shirt from the waist of her skirt and   
finger-combed her hair. "Do you realize that you're all I have in the world,   
Ally?" she inquired, not waiting for an answer. "If I were to ever lose you, I'd   
die. Period. My life would be over as soon as yours..." She let herself succumb   
to tears.  
"I'm part of your destiny," the girl protested, rising to her feet and   
hobbling around the back of the couch. She picked up a discarded hairbrush and   
ponytail holder from the floor and began to work on her mother's hair. "Part of   
fulfilling your life is seeing me through mine."  
The woman sighed and wiped a few tears away. "You don't know how scared I   
am of losing you." Leaning back, she allowed her daughter to pull her wavy mane   
into a high ponytail. "I lost my parents, your father..." She smiled suddenly, as  
though there was an unknown irony to her words. "What can I say? I've lost my   
Scout powers, leaving me to do little more than block attacks."   
Alice scoffed and finished with her mother's hair, pulling the last bit of   
silky hair through the tie. "But you've got a great restaurant," she smiled,   
hopping over the back of the couch and settling in next to her mother. "You have   
the best friends in the world." Plucking the discarded shoe off the floor, she   
winked. "You have this!"  
Snatching away the shoe, the Mistress just smiled weakly and proceeded to   
put it on.  
************  
  
And it starts.  
"You'd think," spat the calico, trotting to keep up with the young man and   
his angry mother, "that you giving away your powers would get rid of this Goddamn  
internal connection."  
Nope! chortled Artemis from where ever he was at the time. A pause set in  
before he pulled back to the subject. But just listen to Richard and Molly,   
and...  
"Damn it, Rich!" shot the woman just then, breaking the otherwise calming   
silence. "You're the Prince of the Stars! You should have been invited!"  
Orion grimaced as the adult screamed at her son. "I see your point," she   
mumbled.   
Sighing, Richard shook his head and continued after his mother. "I was   
invited," he protested in a quiet, composed tone. "To the Scout meeting."  
She turned on him, jabbing a long finger into his chest whilst lowering her  
blue eyes into a stern glare. "Logic, Richard Duncan Umino," she spat angrily.   
"If you're the Prince of the Silver Star, and your mother was one of the rulers,   
then..."  
He paled. "Oh."  
Molly continued her assault down the hallway, still ranting and raving as   
she walked. "And, as one of the rulers of the Silver Star, I should be there!   
Those damn Mistresses are sitting in some fancy room, plotting the demise of the   
whole Earth, and they don't know what the HELL they're doing!"  
"But, Mrs. Umino," pointed out the tiny cat reverently, smiling slightly as  
she strode along with the two humans, "they don't really know what they're   
doing."  
"Somewhere, deep down, they do," argued a new, strong voice. Still walking,  
all three companions turned their heads to glance at Raye Yuuichirou and her   
daughter, Tara. For the first time, Richard realized how much the two looked   
alike. Dark hair, brightly mysterious eyes, stubborn dispositions.  
"It's really hard to consider such a thing," continued the Priestess with a   
long sigh, strolling alongside the mother-son-cat trio, "but they don't   
understand destiny as much as we two do."  
Tara nodded. A slight smile tugged at her lips as she clasped her hands   
together. "The good news is that my mother believes that we should chose."  
The young man nodded. "And so does mine."  
"I hope," put in the cat suddenly, "that this doesn't royally screw up your  
destinies, kids." She paused and grinned evilly. "Well, if it does, you're just   
shit out of luck."  
Orion!   
************  
  
"Today, we make a decision that will forever affect many lives. It may even  
end the world as we know it." Neo-Queen Serenity straightened in her seat, azure   
eyes surveying the room in silence as she folded to tiny, smooth hands. A few   
hundred years ago, she had called the same women--well, the same women sans   
Molly--to the same room and told them of her official ascension to Queen of the   
Earth. They all had known, more or less, that it would someday occur, and they'd   
all been happy. But the good news now gave way to bad as the Queen cleared her   
throat and tried her best to remain stoic. It was a hard task--Michelle and Mina   
were already near tears over the entire occurrence--but the Queen reminded   
herself that it was destiny.  
One does not meddle in the affairs of destiny.   
"And, thusly, this Meeting of the Mistresses is now in order."  
As soon as Serenity finished her sentence, the room was filled with angry,   
irrational bickering.  
"We should put up a barrier!"  
"What about the Scouts?"  
"They'll be fine!"  
"They should choose!"  
"Not my daughters! Please, God no!"   
Hannah sighed as the arguments raged through the air, echoing off the   
marble walls as the Planet Mistresses glared at one another angrily.  
"The Scouts are too young and ill-prepared to fight an evil such as this."   
Amy, of course, was completely calm; the placid, peaceful gleam in her blue eyes   
was almost too much to bare as she spoke to the group. Her voice, more timid than  
that of the other Mistresses, was nearly drowned out by the other's thoughts.  
An angry Alex slammed her fist down on the smooth tabletop. "Who cares if   
they're too young!" she roared, green eyes alight with fiery wrath and a bit of   
fear. "We are destined to protect them!"  
Hannah leaned back in her chair, savoring the sights and sounds of the   
Mistress Meeting.  
"It's destiny," put in a rather distant Susan, folding her hands over her   
enormous belly. "We cannot go against the girl's destinies." She blew a long   
green hair from her face. "And their destiny is to choose."  
Pausing her loud, heart-wrenching sobs, Mina Mokoti shot the Guardian of   
Time a tempered, angry glare. "How can you say that?" she asked rhetorically,   
tears begging to trail down the porcelain cheeks. "They are our daughters. Two   
are MY daughters! How could even one of you..."  
"Then my child will choose on her own." Raye crossed her arms over her   
chest, her own words cutting off that of her blonde friend. "You each can keep   
your babies home on your own accord, but that will not stop me."  
Lita scoffed at the Priestess' cold words to the group. "You're going to   
get your own child killed, and you know it." Her voice was brimming with ire and   
rage, but she did not yell as the tall blonde had. "I still say we put up the  
barrier..."  
Hannah yawned.  
Once again, Susan spoke. "A barrier like that will probably kill us. Let   
them choose..."  
"How can you be so heartless?" Michelle, a woman who had forever been   
softhearted, glanced at her friend through tears. "These are children that we   
have raised from infants, and you want us to throw their lives away."  
"At least she suggests you give them a chance," shot Raye, trying to keep   
her side of the argument well-balanced. "I remember a certain Sailor Scout who   
was dead set on killing Hannah Tomoe years ago..."  
The young woman flinched as her two mothers began screaming at the temple   
maiden. She'd almost forgotten about the Outers' many attempts on her life back   
in the twentieth century. It had been a long battle then, and the only people on   
her side had been the Inner Scouts.  
Thoroughly bored, the purple-eyed gaze flew toward Neo-Queen Serenity. In   
her chair she sat, her bright blue eyes only opened to slits whilst she listened   
in on the entire conversation. No doubt dealing with her own inner demons. None   
the less. She would let Princess Serenity fight when it came time.  
Hannah then glanced at the last woman--the stranger--and smiled gently.   
Wavy, messy red hair rimmed her face as she glanced about the room, as though   
soaking in the atmosphere. The younger woman recognized the stranger as Molly,   
the mother of Richard Umino and one of the two 'lost' rulers of the Silver Star.   
Without words, Molly winked a knowing cerulean eye at the raven-haired Mistress   
before closing her eyes.   
Something--it felt like a clap of thunder without sound, really--was   
released throughout the room, and all the Mistresses froze in mid-sentence. None   
so much as blinked as Molly slowly rose and smoothed her jeans, smiling slightly   
as she brushed hair from her face.   
"The time has come," the woman said, "to talk of many things. None of which  
you will like one bit. But--oh, well. I have but one thing to say."  
The others all settled into their respective seats, almost afraid to move   
while staring blankly at her. Molly smiled.  
"Do not meddle in the affairs of destiny."  
************  
  
Sighing, Phoebe swept the chess pieces off the board. "You win again," she   
mumbled under her breath, crossing her arms indignantly. "I don't see how I can   
be so much like my mother and still lose..."  
With a laugh, Alice caught one of the pieces as Celeste lobbed it back   
toward the duo. "Come now," she grinned, winking a bright brown eye. "I'll teach   
you some new tricks!"  
"I'll see your six Reese's Pieces and raise you two M-and-Ms," grinned   
Lyra, tossing the candies into the large wicker basket in the circle's middle.   
"You can't possibly beat this hand!"  
Red eyes glanced nervously at the five cards before you. "I'll see those   
M-and-Ms and raise you a pretzel." Reeny added her bet to the collection.  
"Angel!" hollered the two-year-old, placing a pretzel in the basket and   
adding a chocolate chip cookie.  
"Hmmm..." Lisa stared at the faces of the other four poker players   
patiently. "I suppose that I'll see that, too..." She placed a cookie in the   
container. "And I'm going to add one...no, TWO...mini Snickers bars to the ante."   
Chewing on his lower lip, Richard considered the ever-growing pot before   
tossing in his two mini Snickers bars. "Call."  
"Two pair!" grinned Reeny. The others groaned.  
"Three of a kind," boasted Lyra proudly, tossing her blonde curls.   
Her boyfriend flashed his cards toward the group. "Full house."  
With a shrug, Lisa placed four eight's on the marble floor. "Beat that,"   
she grinned coolly, trying not to boast.  
Eight eyes flew toward the little child as she spread five cards out before  
her, gray eyes smiling while her expression remained rather flat. "Royal flush,"   
cooed Ambriel, pulling the basket into her arms proudly.   
"WHAT?" They all stared at her, amazed.  
Haley wrinkled her nose, studying the large tower of tiny wood blocks, face  
reflective even though, behind her, a fight over sweets and a royal flush had   
broken out. "I hate this game," she mumbled, furrowing her brow. "It's hard."  
Giggling, Celeste deftly tugged a block off one of the lowest levels and   
placed it atop the stack. "Jenga's a fun game!" she argued, grinning as the tower  
continued to stand, shaking minimally under the new block's weight. "You're the   
best at being sporty, besides..."  
"But I suck at this..." The brunette pulled a block from the tower and   
grimaced as the blocks clattered onto the tabletop and fell to the floor. "I'm   
worse than Phoebe is at chess..."  
"I heard that!" shot the blue-haired teen, eyes not leaving the chessboard.  
Despite all the things that were going on around her, Tara stood motionless  
at the window, staring out at the darkening sky. What would happen to them? What   
were the Mistresses doing as the Sailor Scouts played games and avoided the   
problem...  
A vision flew over her without warning, and Tara grasped the windowsill as   
she felt it come.  
  
It was dark. Very dark. The only light came from a few scattered torches   
about the room. Everything was black. Black marble.  
On the floor laid eight bodies. Familiar bodies. Three of them were   
teenagers, bloodied and beaten. Each wore a different colored Sailor fuku: there   
was red, blue, and pink, crimson and dark orange, and orange and silver. One was   
but the form of a child, her golden locks marred by the bright, sickening color   
of drying blood.   
But four of the bodies belonged to adults. She couldn't make out their   
faces, but bright colors shrouded their bodies.  
Red. One was red.  
And green.  
And orange.  
And navy.  
The picture shuddered, and two others appeared in the room. They'd come out  
of nowhere. Perhaps null-space? Perhaps another dimension?   
The shorter of the two was a young woman with corkscrew curls. She wore a   
white, gold, and light-orange Sailor fuku. Stooping over the prone body of the   
child, she began to weep.  
Brushing red hairs from his ballroom mask, the young man walked up behind   
her and placed a hand on her shoulder, whispering to her. Glancing up, the girl   
turned around and hugged his legs, weeping into the black tuxedo pants he wore.  
And then, the world went black.  
  
"Tara? You okay?"  
Green eyes fluttered open and she sat slowly up, hoping the room would stop  
spinning. Lyra was stooped over her, hands holding out to her a large mug of   
sweet-smelling tea. The Shinto accepted it in silence, sipping it slowly as she   
leaned against the wall. "What...happened..." she stammered, unable to form a   
complete thought.  
Smoothing her red sweater, Phoebe shrugged. "You passed out again," she   
informed her friend, placing her hands gingerly on her hips. "You've really got   
to stop doing that!"  
Red. Red and orange. Phoebe.  
Tara blanched and glanced at the others. Reeny. Her Scout colors were red,   
blue, and pink. Right? Yes. And Alice... She'd not been in the vision. Lyra...   
Lyra had been the crying Scout. And Richard had been the man. That was easy   
enough. Then there was Haley... Silver and orange. Yes. And Celeste...  
"You okay, Tara?" asked the tiny Scout, playing with the bow on her left   
pigtail. "You look sick."  
The girl with the golden hair had been Celeste.  
Standing on shaky legs, the Shinto Scout took a deep breath and glanced   
back out the window. The skies were still darkening, and thunder rumbled across   
the city. Her voice found its way out of her throat, though she'd originally had   
no intention of speaking.  
"We need to talk."  
************  
  
The King cackled. Less than an hour until the Scouts would be his. Less   
than an hour until Earth would fall under the rule of the Raiders.  
And he would win this time.   
************  
  
"What the Hell did you just say?" asked a shocked Alexandra, resisting the   
urge to hit the redhead upside the head. Her gray-green eyes sparkled with hate.   
"You can't waltz in here and..."  
Molly smiled indulgently. "I said, and I quote: 'do not meddle in the   
affairs of destiny'." Her face remained calm as she looked individually at each   
Mistress.  
Amy Urawa.  
Raye Hino.  
Lita Kino.  
Mina Mokoti.   
Michelle Ten'ou.  
Alexandra Ten'ou.  
Susan Meiou.  
Hannah Tomoe.  
And Serena Chiba. Neo-Queen Serenity.  
"You are so short-sighted," continued the woman in a calm voice, her blue   
eyes catching the gaze of the youngest Mistress and holding there, "that you   
cannot understand: the future depends on these eight children--yours, mine... OUR  
children. And you...you cannot do this..." She paused and her smile became more   
pensive. "You must let these children choose for themselves. And yes, they will   
choose to fight. They will choose to be stronger than you, me...all of us..." A   
tear streaked down her cheek, but her voice remained strong. "And they will win,   
this time."  
A deep breath was taken, its sound echoing about the room. "But we don't   
want them to fight..." Mina's voice caught as she spoke, and she couldn't finish.  
Raye sighed. "I think we'll all have to fight," she told them solemnly.  
"No!" yelped Lita, teary-eyed. "No more fighting!"  
Michelle stared at the strange woman. "But...that's not good... Or   
right..."  
For the first time in the Meeting, Hannah rose and looked around the room.   
"We all fight. Like it or not."  
Several of the Mistresses gasped as she spoke, but neither Molly nor Raye   
looked surprised at the young woman. Raven hair glittered almost violet in the   
pale lamplight, nearly matching her stony gaze.   
The only Mistress to recover from the shock of Hannah's statement was her   
own blonde-haired mother. "Listen to Michelle," she demanded as the aqua-haired   
woman cried into her hands. "It's not right or good to involve us."  
"There is a difference," responded Hannah with sad smile tugging at her   
lips, "between 'right' and 'good'. I may be right, but I sacrifice a lot to be   
right. And you may be good, but you're wrong. They can fight. They will fight.   
Not for us, but for the world." She paused briefly, sighing. "In the end, we will  
all fight. Or die. And Molly, Susan, and Raye are right--it's your choice. It's   
all our choices. And it's your own destiny. But I..." She shrugged and touched a   
finger to her purple-and-black beads. "I am going to fight."  
Silence filled the room as the Mistresses stared at her in shock. No one   
dared to speak as the dark haired young woman folded her hands and sat back down,  
once again becoming stoic.  
"Maybe... Maybe she's right..." Alexandra glanced at the aqua-haired woman   
next to her and laced their fingers together thoughtfully. "The girls can't do   
this alone..."  
The blue-haired Mistress nodded in solemn agreement. "Perhaps, in an   
abstract way, we were right all along." The others all stared at her in   
confusion. She blanched. "That is to say that we were right to not want them to   
fight all on their own."  
Lita nodded. "We have to all fight together. Mistresses and Scouts. Hand in  
hand."  
The stranger, the redheaded woman who had so sparked Hannah's monologue and  
had slowly drawn the Mistresses into the world of rational thinking and blatant   
logic, smiled knowingly. "I'm glad we've all reached a verdict." Pulling on her   
coat, she started toward the large marble doors.  
For only the second time in the meeting, Neo-Queen Serenity spoke. "Molly,   
why do you leave?"  
The woman slowed her pace and turned around, smiling sadly as she gazed   
with blue eyes at her childhood best friend. "Serena, there are many things that   
you don't know about the Silver Star," she stated plainly, trying not to upset   
herself or her friend. "My time on this planet grows short, and I intend to spend  
my remaining days as best I can." She bowed deeply, red hair falling about her   
pale face. "And I shall miss you."  
As she left, Mina gulped back her remaining few tears and sighed. "I   
suppose the time has come, then..."  
"Yes," responded Susan, her voice strong as she smiled weakly at the   
others. "The time has come."  
************  
  
"I'm getting worried," she sighed, staring up at the thick, black clouds   
that were fusing together above the city. "I've never seen a storm this bad   
before..."  
The orange cat stretched and shrugged. "You worry to much, Di," he   
addressed his sister casually, glancing up to the Heavens as though the sky was   
blue and cheery. "I'm sure that this is just another little thunder storm, like   
the one a couple of days ago."  
Green eyes glowed as lightning flashed, illuminating the dim room. "I think  
you're wrong, Orb," Orion sighed, her expression wary. "This is a sign."  
"You believe in those?" he inquired, raising an eyebrow. "That is SO cute!"  
Shooting him an angry glare, the calico bristled. "Shut up..."  
"But it's..."  
"Just stop it," commanded Diana in a rather dry tone. Her red eyes narrowed  
to slits as she watched another bolt of lightning streak across the dreary sky.   
"She's right this time. This is a signal."  
Orb considered this and chuckled, receiving two stern, dagger-filled glares  
from the female cats. "What?" The glares continued. "You can't possibly believe   
that the world is soon going to end!"  
"I never said it would," retorted Orion in a serious voice. "I just said I   
was a sign. It's you who said it."  
The three were silent for a long moment, eyes glancing out the window in   
contemplative quiet. The red eyes of the elder Moon Cat were teary, and the   
golden eyes of her brother were nervous and wary. Only the timeless, elegant   
forest-colored eyes of the calico cat seemed to understand and not fear the   
storm.  
Sighing, the pink one looked to her two companions. "We're all going to   
die, aren't we?" she inquired nervously.  
"We die or live," responded the Star Cat softly. "We triumph or fail."  
"I hope for the first option," Orb stated, wrenching his gaze from the   
unsettled sky.   
Orion nodded. "And so do I."  
************  
  
"And then..." Tara wiped the tears off her face and let her head fall into   
her hands, unable to finish the sentence.  
Putting a warm arm around the younger teen, Reeny took a deep breath and   
cleared her throat. "If what you say is true, then that means..."  
Celeste's lower lip began to quiver as she realized the heavy truth that   
had been in the Shinto's words. Collapsing into Lyra's lap, the little girl   
buried her head in her sister's skirt, sobbing.   
The bedroom of the Princess of the Earth was filled with silence, but   
everyone knew that Tara's vision was right. Just like the others had been a few   
months before. True. All true. And that meant only one thing for the Galactic   
Sailors.   
Four of them, along with four of the Mistresses, would die.   
"I don't see how this could happen," Richard commented, stroking Lyra's   
blonde curls idly as he held her close. "Perhaps we're going to be kidnapped."   
The others all looked at him in shock, and Ambriel cooed. "I mean, if the vision   
took place in the Raider Starship..."  
Phoebe nodded and let a small, hopeful smile tug at her lips. "Maybe we   
should catch the King off guard," she suggested, rubbing her hands together as   
she spoke. "We could Sailor Teleport to the Starship..."  
"But we're going to have to take the Mistresses," Alice spoke up with a   
toss of her straight auburn hair. "I mean, if they were in the vision too..."  
"And we should take them anyway," put in Haley with a sigh. "I mean, they   
could really help us..."  
The blonde Mokoti girls both looked up from their respective embraces. Lyra  
nodded to Haley's suggestion while the little one looked out the window and at   
the blackening skies. "So that's it," observed Lyra, weaseling out of Richard's   
embrace to stand. "We're to fight."  
Nodding in agreement, the Princess stood in turn and smiled slightly. "And   
we protect the world from the one true evil out there."  
"For the world!" announced Celeste, clenching her hands into fists as she   
glared, teary-eyed, out the window. "We are going to have you, Raider King! We're  
going to get you!"  
The little redhead child in Lisa's arms sniffled and let her gray eyes dart  
about the room. All of the Scouts were nears tears, now, and Richard was stoic   
but somehow worried as Lyra hugged Celeste around the shoulders. Ambriel had   
watched as Tara had told all of them about the vision. She had watched as seven   
girls and one young man had nearly screamed in fear.  
Lisa hugged Ambriel closer, bending down toward the girl's ear. "You know   
something they don't," she whispered softly, "don't you?"   
Gray eyes sparkled, and the toddler smiled weakly, as though she   
understood.  
"And they haven't seen anything yet, have they?" continued the handmaiden   
with her concerned questioning.  
As though on cue, the child climbed of the blonde woman's lap and toddled   
slowly across the floor toward the congregation of teenage warriors.   
"Ambry?" questioned Reeny with a raised pink eyebrow. "Go back to Lisa..."  
"Scouts good!" cooed the little girl, hugging the Princess around the   
knees. "Mistresses good!" She buried her little face in the white skirts. "Die   
trying. Live again."  
Everyone stared at the child as she sat down on the floor in tears, gray   
eyes glowing as she gazed longingly at the pink-haired teen. "Ambriel love   
Mommy..."  
"Mommy loves Ambry," choked the Princess, bending down to smooth the little  
girl's red hair. "But Mommy has to go away for a little while, now... And... And   
she might not..." Shaking her head, Reeny placed a soft kiss on the foundling's   
forehead. The silver moon birthmark appeared for a brief second before fading   
into nothingness again. "Just be good for Lisa..."  
As Lisa plucked the child up off the floor and walked out of the room, she   
glanced meaningfully at the Princess. Her Princess. "No matter what happens," she  
sighed, bowing a slight bit, "I will serve you. I..." She shook her head   
slightly. "It is wrong for me to say it, but I love you."  
Reeny smiled and blinked back tears as the woman walked out of the door.  
"Let's do it," suggested Haley with an affirmative nod, drawing her locket   
out of her pocket and staring at it with nervous teal eyes. "Let's go kick some   
Raider butt!"  
"Let's go get the Raiders!"  
The Galactic Sailors assembled into a circle, each clutching their   
respective locket or transformation stick tightly over their hearts. Richard drew  
a purple rose out of midair, clasping it over his chest and joining the group.  
Reeny took a deep breath. "No matter what happens," she vowed, raising her   
locket over her head, "we will be the Galactic Sailors."  
Five more lockets, one transformation stick, and a rose flew into the air   
as the eight warriors of love and justice all smiled at one another and closed   
their eyes.   
"Moon Galactic Power..."  
"Earth Galactic Power..."  
"Polaris Galactic Power..."  
"Phoenix Galactic Power..."  
"Aurora Borealis Galactic Power..."  
"Comet Galactic Power..."  
"Small Star Power..."  
"MAKE UP!"  
Richard let the light of seven transformations fall upon his face. "May the  
light of the stars guide you..." he whispered, allowing his own purple ribbons to  
envelop him before closing his eyes to the brightness of the colors.  
And to the brightness of destiny.  
************  
  
"So, this is it."  
Seven women smoothed their velvety gowns in both expectation and fear. The   
conference room was alight with the colors of the Planet Mistresses--blue, red,   
green, orange, purple, navy, and aqua. Nearby stood the Queen of the Earth, her   
silvery-white gown and its golden trim glistening in the pale lamplight. Beside   
her was the King, dressed all in lavender. And there was, of course...  
The Guardian of Time thumped her key staff on the floor, catching   
everyone's wandering attentions. Her garnet eyes were alight in the daring light   
of hope as she glanced at the other Mistresses. Her black and crimson fuku was   
taught against her bulging belly, but she did smile. "I will pray for you all."  
Terrence, who stood beside her in full military garb, closed his hands   
around one of hers and, in this, around the Time Key. "We will watch from the   
Gate..."  
"But... The babies..." The shock on Mistress Neptune's face was heart-  
wrenching as she stared at the couple.  
Sailor Pluto nodded solemnly, touching one hand to her pregnant belly.   
"This is something that we must do," she sighed, eyes flying to Terrence's face.   
He smiled gently, but the fear and apprehensiveness of the situation could be   
seen on his face.   
The Queen of the Earth glanced at her King, and he let a sad smile tug at   
his pale lips. "Good luck..."  
Just then, the door burst open and the seven Galactic Sailors burst into   
the room, the Starlit Prince following slowly, more cautiously, behind them.   
"We're fighting!" announced Sailor Moon on behind of the rest of the Sailor   
Scouts. She pulled the Galactic Rod out of null-space and pointed it toward the   
nearest adult--her own mother. "And that's that!"  
"You try to stop us," came a small voice, "and you get your butts kicked!"  
Sailor Chibi-Star glared daggers at the Mistresses and tightened her grip on her   
sister's gloved hand.  
The Mistress of Venus smiled a slight bit, azure eyes sparkling with unshed  
tears. She gazed longingly at her two children: two girls, really young women in   
maturity, who were so far out of reach. "We know," she breathed, voice wavering   
as she held back tears.  
"You can fight," agreed Uranus with a delicate smile on her masculine face.  
"And you will."  
The seven teens stared blankly at the adults, unmoving. Outside, thunder   
crackled through the air and shook Crystal Palace. The lamplight wavered, casting  
the room in momentary darkness. Queen Serenity grimaced and dug her nails into   
Endymion's arm, creasing the fine lavender fabric of his suit. Her blue eyed gaze  
wavered from the Galactic Sailors and fell to the floor. She knew what was   
coming.  
And so did they.  
Sailor Comet took a slight step forward, her boots' heels clicking loudly   
on the tile floor and echoing throughout the conference room. Nothing moved as   
she spoke. "You...you mean it?" she stammered, awkwardly amazed.  
Jupiter nodded. "And we will, too."  
"Good." The Starlight Prince reached for the free hand of his blonde-haired  
girlfriend. "Are we ready?"  
The Mistresses all glanced at Pluto, who nodded and smiled gently at all of  
them. "Good luck."  
Her boyfriend--her knight, really, in all of his military gear--winked a   
green eye. "See you when you get back!"  
A flash of red light filled the room.  
And they were gone.  
************  
  
"They'll fall right into our grasp, like the pawns they are." The Raider   
King laughed triumphantly and flipped a rather large switch into the 'on'   
position. "To think that those Sailor brats would actually teleport into our   
clutches..."  
The Spirit of Silver nodded. "I just hope you know what you're doing."  
And the King smiled evilly.  
************  
  
"Join hands," commanded Serenity, closing her bright blue eyes and raising   
her arms. "I will lend my powers to you as you teleport."  
The girls as glanced at one another and laced their hands together one-by-  
one, standing in their own half circle with Comet on one end and Polaris on the   
other. The Mistresses did the same, with Saturn and Venus taking up the ends.   
Slowly, carefully, they completed the circle, with Serenity and Endymion standing  
in the circle's center.  
The Queen held onto the hand of her husband and took a deep breath. The   
Silver Imperium Crystal appeared above her head and began to glow as everyone   
closed their eyes.  
"Mercury Power!"   
"Mars Power!"  
"Jupiter Power!"  
"Venus Power!"  
"Uranus Power!"  
"Neptune Power!"  
"Saturn Power!"  
"Moon Power!"  
"Earth Power!"  
"Polaris Power!"  
"Phoenix Power!"  
"Aurora Borealis Power!"  
"Comet Power!"  
"Small Star Power!"  
"Silver Star Power!"  
Fifteen beams of light, all various colors and hues, merged into one over   
their heads, bonding with the Silver Imperium Crystal's pure white light. The   
glowing beam spread out, covering them all as the voices united into one.  
"TELEPORT!"  
And they were gone.  
Serenity's knees buckled beneath her and she collapsed into the King's   
arms, panting as she wiped beads of sweat from her brow. Her blue eyes were teary  
and bloodshot.  
Endymion brushed a blonde hair from her face. "You alright, Sere?"  
"Are we doing the right thing?" she choked out, turning to face him as   
tears slowly fell down her cheeks. Her words echoed throughout the now empty room  
as she buried her head in his chest. "Was that right?"  
Kissing the top of her head, he wrapped his arms around her as another clap  
of thunder shook the building. "We just have to hope so..."  
************  
  
"They're gone."  
Orion's voice carried through the empty control room as she stared at one   
of the screens. Sure enough, fifteen colored beams were flying toward the black,   
looming vehicle that was the Raider Starship.  
The other two cats hung their heads. "Now what do we do?" asked Orb grimly,  
afraid to look up at the picture.  
Diana gulped. "We pray."  
************  
  
--Galactic Sailors Say--  
  
Lisa: (entering) Because the Sailor Scouts are on their way to doom--I mean, the   
Raider Starship... Well, we bring you 'The Minor Characters Say'.  
  
Endymion: (entering) That's right. Have you noticed that we minor characters get   
no screen time?  
  
Marie: (entering) Yeah! I mean, I'm Phoebe's aunt and this is my second   
appearance in the series!  
  
Harmony: (entering) Oh yeah? Well, I'm the pointless lights girl that spent one   
freaking scene in this tale!  
  
Marie: Oh, yeah?  
  
Harmony: YEAH!  
  
(Pause)  
  
Endymion: If you would like to see more of us minor characters, please e-mail   
duncan@chicago.avenew.com.  
  
Lisa: With your help, the authors might let us have our limelight!  
  
(Pause 2)  
  
Marie: Besides, Butler is a ham and would love to hear from you.  
  
Ice Monster: Remember me? I had the shortest life span of all youmas, even those   
on the original BSSM!  
  
Harmony: (smiles) I'm sorry, but the youma convention is down the hall.  
  
Ice Monster: (makes face) Oh.  
  
Lisa: The minor characters say...  
  
Endymion: Make us major!  
  
Harmony: Wouldn't that ruin the point of us being MINOR characters?  
  
Endymion: Ermmm...  
  
ALL: SEE YA!   
  
-I Know-  
Look around...  
(Tara, sitting next to Queen Serenity, stares up at the night sky)  
So many things aren't clear...  
(Phoebe looks blankly at a math book)  
Don't worry, though...  
(Lyra smiles while picking up her tuba)  
You know that I'll be there...  
(Sailor Pluto and Haley smile knowingly at each other)  
A lot of things are so uncertain...  
(Alice looks sadly at a clock while the sun sets over Crystal Tokyo)  
The future's on its way...  
(Reeny holds the Locket of the Moon, smiling)  
Look at my crying eyes...  
(Luna and Artemis console an upset Diana)  
Don't take your love away!  
(Hannah sighs, looking at a sleeping Haley)  
  
Sometimes, the road looks long...  
(Mina looks at her children with Andrew behind her)  
And sometimes, the world seems wrong...  
(Alex and Michelle smile at one another and then blush deeply)  
But I know, I know, all you need is love.  
(The six girls, untransformed, hold their lockets high)  
  
Sometimes, you feel weak...  
(Lita smoothes the hair of a crying Alice)  
And sometimes, the future looks bleak...  
(Raye and Chad stand behind Tara, who is staring at her locket)  
But I know, I know, all you need is love.  
(The six Galactic Sailors stand in a half circle)  
  
Times will change...  
(Amy looks out of a window and at Crystal Palace)  
People will change, too...  
(Endymion looks at Serenity, who is pouring over a book)  
But deep inside...  
(Lyra hugs Celeste)  
I always will love you...  
(Diana falls asleep on Reeny's lap)  
I suppose there are questions now...  
(Alice and Phoebe stare blankly at one another)  
The answers are so far...  
(Michelle stands in front of the orchestra, talking)  
But look at me and smile now...  
(Tara lovingly hugs her father)  
I am your guiding star!  
(Haley smiles at a studying Hannah)  
  
Sometimes, the road looks long...  
(Mina looks at her children with Andrew behind her)  
And sometimes, the world seems wrong...  
(Alex and Michelle smile at one another and then blush deeply)  
But I know, I know, all you need is love.  
(The six girls, untransformed, hold their lockets high)  
  
Sometimes, you feel weak...  
(Lita smoothes the hair of a crying Alice)  
And sometimes, the future looks bleak...  
(Raye and Chad stand behind Tara, who is staring at her locket)  
But I know, I know, all you need is love.  
(The six Galactic Sailors stand in a half circle)  
  
I know...  
(The Planet Mistresses stand in a circle)  
I know...  
(The Galactic Sailors stand in a circle)  
All you need is love...  
(The Mistresses and Sailors all stand together, holding hands, with their eyes   
closed)  
All you need...is...love...  
(A single purple rose sits in a vase)  
  
***********  
  
What will happen? Find out on...  
  
GALACTIC SAILORS 12!!!  
  
Coming in early-to-mid March from the Microsoft Word of Kate Butler.  
  
Till then...  
  
--KB--  



	12. A Supernova

A Supernova  
  
--Author's Ramblings:  
Mysterious Blonde Girl: So, we've finally reached story 12. Isn't anyone  
the least bit curious as to who the brains of entire operation is?  
((silence))  
Who's pulled us through Hell and high-water? Who nudges Kate's   
inspiration?  
((more silence))  
Oh, come on! You don't think Kate did it alone?!  
((crowd murmurs in agreement))  
WELL, SHE DIDN'T! If it weren't for me, Kate would still be thinking  
of a name for Sailor Polaris. If it weren't for me, there'd be no   
sexy Starlit Prince! If it weren't for me, Lyra and--  
((the hand of an angry Butler seizes the girl's large mouth shut))  
Oh, okay, I won't reveal anything. Except my real identity! I am the   
pretty-suited Editor Christina!  
((silence)) ((Christina turns to Butler))  
I TOLD you! They don't know me! I am Kate's best friend who gives   
Kate ideas and helps her with plots. I do all the dirty work and   
Kate just puts it on paper. I...  
((crowd begins to snore))  
Okay, I see--you all want to see what happened next, what peril...   
((Butler glares at her))  
Uh... on with the show!  
--Important! This story is a bit more violent and depressing than any   
other Galactic Sailors stories. Be forewarned!--  
--Also, there are a lot of author's notes at the end I suggest reading!--  
************  
And, last time 'round...  
  
The Galactic Gals wanted to fight the Raider King. The Mistresses did not  
want them to--excepting Hannah, because she's Saturn and she's cool.   
Orion received Artemis' Guardian powers. The Mistresses, with a bit of   
shoving from Molly, decided to fight alongside the Scouts. Tara had a bad  
vision. The Mistresses, Scouts, and Starlit Prince teleported to the   
Raider Starship.  
  
And that, my friends, is where the story begins...  
************  
  
Do you hope?  
"Yes."  
What?  
"I hope to someday be free."  
Do you pray?  
"Yes."  
What?  
"I pray to the power of the stars."  
Do the stars know all?  
"I think they do."  
Can you be sure?  
"Nothing is ever sure."  
Do you love them all?  
"Of course I do."  
How much do you love them?  
"Enough to save them."  
Even if it means risking your life?  
"I do love them."  
And?  
"And, if that's what it comes to, I will."  
Even if it means death?  
"I love them."  
How long will you love them?  
"Until the end."  
Is this the end?  
"I think not."  
Is this the beginning?  
"I hope not."  
Why not?  
"I do not know."  
Then what is this?  
"A supernova."  
************  
  
Laughing, he watched as the large, multi-colored beam of light   
dispersed and became many. His red, darting eyes were menacing, sparkling   
in the pale torchlight of the Chamber of the Spirits. Nothing moved,   
except him. Nothing breathed, except him. Nothing WAS...  
Except him.  
He was the Raider King. He was the only hope for the entire   
civilization of Raider People. For the Andromeda Galaxy was cold and   
bleak, and not a place for the Raiders...  
With an evil smile, he watched the beams of light--all fifteen   
beams--fly into their own receptacles. Their own little holding bays of   
desolate evil.  
"We have them," smiled the Spirit of Silver, glistening as it spoke.  
And the King just nodded.  
************  
  
Do you hope?  
"Yes."  
************  
  
Her head was throbbing as she rose, the vivid colors of her Sailor   
fuku dulled, really, by her own two eyes. Nothing felt right about this   
place. Nothing seemed to be alive or real. Everything seemed...misty?  
Yes. Everything was shrouded in a pale, surreal mist. The air was   
crisp, cool, and almost glowing. And in the mist somewhere--she could not   
tell if it was nearby or far from where she stood on shaking legs--there   
was a body.  
"Small Lady?" came a soft, soothing voice.   
She narrowed her eyes, squinting. The voice sent shivers up her   
spine. Only one person called her Small Lady, anymore. Only one person had  
a voice like that...  
But that had been years ago.  
Footfalls, like those caused by her own pink boots, echoed through   
the air. Yet there was no ceiling.   
Watching cautiously with bright red eyes, she took a small step   
forward as well.  
And out of the mists came Sailor Pluto.  
"Puu?" Neo-Sailor Moon's voice was soft and timid as she looked at   
the silhouette before her. It HAD to be Sailor Pluto! It was the same red-  
and-black fuku that she'd seen earlier... The same silken green tresses   
fell limply down her back and nearly to her ankles... The same lavender   
key staff with its sparkling Garnet Orb was clenched in a fist...  
She glanced again at the staff. The Orb wasn't sparkling. It ALWAYS   
sparkled. Sailor Moon glanced into the crimson eyes. They were dull,   
lifeless... Like those of so many youmas she had fought so many times.   
Surely...  
"Why aren't you at the Gate of Time?" she asked cautiously, reaching  
a hand instinctively behind her to the very spot in null-space where her   
Rod would be, should she need it.  
Pluto smiled gently and held out her free hand, the bleached white   
of the glove almost shining in the pale, mysterious light. "Diana is   
watching the Gate, of course," she responded in her normal, serene tone,   
"just like she did when you were a child."  
Closing her eyes, Sailor Moon pulled the Galactic Rod from null-  
space and pointed it directly at her companion's heart. Despite the danger  
that she was faced with, Pluto's large eyes remained dull and lifeless.  
"You forgot about Terrence," the heroine whispered, voice hoarse.   
She paused for a moment, almost unable to move due to the likeness between  
the illusion and the Sailor Pluto of reality. "Forgive me."  
"DON'T!"  
"Galactic Shower!"  
The fake Pluto turned immediately to dust, but the power of the Rod   
set off a chain reaction. The mist suddenly clouded and became fog, and   
lightning lit up the sky. Sailor Moon shivered against her will, gazing   
throughout the darkening mists. Nothing. Absolutely nothing. She gulped   
back the tears which were brimming in her eyes as thunder chorused about   
the girl. She grimaced, stepping slowly backward.   
What was this place? Where was she? And where were the other Sailor   
Scouts?  
"Reeny! Grow up!" came a loud, scolding voice. "Learn to behave!"  
Sailor Moon paled and stumbled backward a bit, gasping. It sounded   
like her mother's voice, only a bit harsher and more edgy. "What's going  
on?" she choked, grip tightening on the Galactic Rod. "What did I..."  
"You act just like your mother!" yelled Diana's voice loudly,   
demeaning her. "You should grow up! Act your age for once!"   
Thunder clapped once again, and the area lit up. A crowd of people,  
all flailing their arms menacingly, was slowly approaching. "You are   
nothing but a brat!" they all screamed, one loud, unison voice rising out   
of the thick mists. "You are just like Serena, and we all know how she   
turned out!"  
The teen stumbled backward, faintly aware of the fact that she was   
falling. One shaking hand reached out and managed to grasp onto something.  
She sighed in relief, realizing how fast her heart was beating. Nothing   
moved as she tried to focus on her surroundings.  
Lightning flashed, and her red eyes made good of the pale light,   
much to her personal chagrin.  
Around her were the pale, sandy walls of what seemed to be a giant   
chasm. Within her hand was a rather weak-looking, dead branch of some sort  
of bush or tree. The pit didn't seem to end, and Sailor Moon drew in a   
deep breath.  
She was doomed. Positively doomed.  
Once again, the Pluto-facsimile appeared, its lifeless wine eyes   
glaring down at the Sailor Scout. "I warned you," it hissed, a vile smile  
crossing its lips. "But you did not listen."  
"Who are you?" screamed the teen, tears flowing down her cheeks   
while she yelled, though she did not remember letting the dam of emotions  
burst. "WHAT are you?"  
The Pluto-thing smirked and shrugged, raising the staff above its   
head. "Wouldn't you like to know?" it inquired dryly, shrugging as it   
spoke. "Goodbye, Sailor Moon."  
And the thing threw the staff toward Sailor Moon, fading as the   
projectile neared the girl's head.  
"I will come again!" announced Sailor Moon loudly, taking a deep   
breath.  
And the last fleeting sight she had before blacking out was of her   
white-gloved hand letting go of the flimsy branch.  
************  
  
What?  
"I hope to someday be free."  
************  
  
Two large, purple eyes fluttered open. Slowly, carefully, the   
Mistress allowed her vision to focus on the room. And she smiled, amazed.  
She was home.  
It was, sure enough, the Cherry Hill Temple. She was sitting on the   
same ratty brown couch that had been within the living room all her life.   
Outside, she saw smiling children play ball in the courtyard while a young  
couple chatted with the priest--her husband.  
As delighted as she was, Raye furrowed her brow. How could she be   
home? They'd all concentrated on the Raider Starship. They'd all focused   
their energies. Even she. It just wasn't possible...  
She slowly stood, smoothing the flowing red velvet of her Mistress   
gown. Something didn't seem--no. Something just didn't FEEL right. And why  
did the room look different? The Priestess walked toward the cream-colored  
wall nearest to her and pressed the palm of her hand to it. It was solid   
enough. Her high heels sunk into the beige carpeting just as her normally   
barefoot feet would...  
Laughing at herself, she kicked off her shoes and picked them off   
the carpet. No use going against her beliefs now. She was home. She was   
safe. And rule number one--no shoes in the temple.  
Raye walked outside, finger-combing her black hair and trying to   
make sense of all that could have happened. Had they won? No, that just   
couldn't have happened without her knowledge. But, then again, the Sailor   
Scouts couldn't have lost...  
The air smelt of cherry blossoms in summer and of sea surf. She   
smiled without thinking. This was the life she led. The perfect life. It   
had taken years and years, but...  
"And take good care of the place," her husband was saying to the   
young couple, taking what appeared to be a large amount of money from   
them in cash.   
She rushed forward. "Chad!" she called out, an edge to her voice   
that could only be described as livid. "What do you think you are doing?"  
The woman of the couple laughed merrily, tossing her blonde hair   
about her shoulders as she did so. "Oh, Mrs. Yuuichirou, you're so   
funny!" she announced giddily, covering her mouth as the raven-haired   
woman glared toward her. "Just hours ago, you approved our purchase of   
your lovely little temple!"  
Raye choked, as though she'd just sniffed the scent of something   
truly foul. She glanced at Chad, whose green eyes seemed to be filled   
with confusion. In her heart, she knew something was wrong. There was a   
strange sensation running up and down her being...  
"Sweetie, you did approve it," the priest assured his wife in a   
calm tone. "Remember?"  
Nodding a little, she held back tears. "Well, I hope you like it   
here..."  
The woman grinned and grasped a hold of her partner's hand. "We   
will!" she announced. Pausing for a brief moment, she bowed quickly. "And   
I'm sorry to hear about your daughter."  
She reared back, as if hit. "W...What?" she stammered, disbelieving   
of what she heard. "What about Tara?"  
Glancing at one another, the couple darted off, away from the angry,  
upset priestess, tugging the playful children behind them.  
Chad put a soothing hand on her shoulder. "Don't you remember   
anything?" he asked softly, cocking his head to the side. "Don't you   
remember what happened to the Galactic Sailors and the others?"  
"No." Her voice was cold. "Tell me."  
He paused, gulping. "In order to win, the Galactic Sailors had to...  
to..." His eyes focused on the ground. "Well, they had to give up their   
lives."  
A tear trailed down her cheek without warning, followed by several   
others, and Chad shook his head slowly.   
She knew that gesture. It meant that there was more bad news to   
come.  
"And...Raye..." He took in a sharp breath. "I'm dying."  
Time seemed to stop. Raye stared into his eyes and immediately knew   
the truth.   
And, suddenly, there was nothing left to live for.  
Diving into his arms, she began to sob, the tears flowing freely   
down her cheeks without warning or willingness. Her life had been so   
perfect and now...now...  
He kissed her forehead. "Don't you worry, Raye," he whispered,   
soothingly. "It will all be alright if you let it be."  
The world seemed to shift on its axis suddenly, and the priestess   
felt it. She closed her eyes, trying desperately to figure out why the   
world didn't seem right. It hadn't since she'd first awoken on the   
couch, but she had desperately tried to ignore it and focus on something   
more substantial. Her husband.  
But, now, it really didn't seem right. Everything seemed off   
balance. Everything seemed...  
That was it! It was reversed! The couch should have been against the  
OTHER wall! The door should have been in a different place! That explained  
why the room just didn't seem right! She pulled her lids tighter, focusing  
on Chad's aura.  
And she gasped. He didn't have one.   
Trying earnestly to pull her body from his arms, she grunted. He   
wouldn't move. His eyes, which had once been loving were now rather angry   
and sparkled with evil. His grip pulled her closer.  
"Afraid, Raye? Afraid of the truth?"  
She bristled. "This isn't the truth!" she hollered, breath ragged as  
she glared at the stranger in front of her. "You aren't my husband!"   
One of his hands fell away from her waist and came up to her neck.   
"Very good assumption, Miss Mars," he grinned, hiss of a voice sending   
shivers down her spine. "I'm just sorry that it didn't come soon enough to  
save you..."  
Raye kicked at his shins and wiggled as best she could, but nothing   
helped. His grip remained strong, and the hand on his throat grew tighter.  
"You... MOSTER!" she spat, still struggling. "What is this place?"  
"You'll never know," he retorted coolly, bringing his face down to   
touch their noses together. "You will die here, and the Scouts will never   
succeed."  
"They don't need me," Raye informed him dryly, pulling her face as   
far from his as possible. "They can win without the power of Mars."  
The Chad-thing smirked. "Maybe so," he responded, "but they will all  
share your fate in the end." With those words, he quickly drew his lips to  
hers, dragging her into a rough, horrible kiss.   
Pushing him away, the Mistress of Mars drew in all her courage and   
spat in his face. "You are a monster," she growled, lowering her eyes,   
"and not all the Scouts and Mistresses will be stupid enough to share my   
fate."  
And his hand tightened around her throat, strangling her slowly.  
And all she could remember choking out was "please let Tara be   
okay."  
************  
  
Do you pray?  
"Yes."  
************  
  
And Sailor Earth was running.  
She hadn't remembered when the bees had first come out of the dark   
tunnel she was in, and she couldn't remember how long she had been   
running.  
All she knew of was the danger. The unending, impossible danger that  
trailed behind her, only a few paces behind. If she were to trip, to   
stumble, to lose even half a pace...  
Earth grimaced. She didn't want to think about it.  
The buzzing of the bees and the sound of her boots hitting the stone  
ground were the only sounds, and they reverberated throughout the tunnel   
with each and every last step she took. Nothing seemed to move or so much   
as change position, including herself and the insects. It was almost as   
though...  
She felt an urge to hit herself over the head with something very   
blunt. It was all fake! There was nothing else in the world except her and  
the bees because the only things that WERE in THIS world were her and a   
swarm of blood hungry bees. And she smiled.   
Then, as though it had just come into view, a glimmer of light   
appeared. The light at the end of the tunnel. Her smile faded. Maybe it   
was no illusion.   
She ran through the opening and into a large meadow. Blue flowers   
and blades of grass stretched for miles out before her. Her frown was   
quickly replaced. She was safe.  
The bees seemed to stop at the cave's mouth, as though the sun's   
warm light scared them and took away their obviously unwavering speed. The  
Sailor Scout of the Earth smiled. Safe at last.  
Then, without warning, the buzzing seemed to amplify in volume, its   
loudness twenty or thirty times that of the echoes that had been in the   
cave. She turned slowly around, afraid of what could be making such a   
sound.  
Her green eyes quickly located the problem. A giant bee, a good ten   
times her size, loomed above her, its wings beating loudly as she took a   
slow step back. What was she supposed to do?  
Sailor Earth did the only thing she could. "Earthly Thunderstorm...   
STRIKE!"  
Lightning hit the insect. Rain pelted down upon its thin wings,   
breaking holes in them. Slowly, it fell to the ground, shaking the entire   
meadow as it withered and turned to moon dust.  
As soon as the creature fell to the ground, the world about her   
collapsed and turned into a black eddy. She stifled a scream as she began   
to be pulled toward the black hole. Could this be the end?  
She fell onto a black marble floor, still conscious and very much   
alive.  
Maybe it wasn't the end, after all.  
************  
  
What?  
"I pray to the power of the stars."  
************  
  
"I hate heights," muttered Mistress Venus, pushing her back further   
against the cool wall of rock. "I mean, I really, really HATE heights."  
Below her was an endless ocean, its waves lapping gently against the  
bottom of the cliff. Ordinarily, she would have had no problem diving off   
the tiny ledge and into the cool water. Ordinarily, swimming to safety   
would be a very nice opinion.  
Ordinarily, she wouldn't have been on an endless cliff, a good mile   
above the ground, with shark-infested waters below.  
Mina pushed a blonde hair from her teary eyes. How did she get   
herself into these messes? With a brief sigh, she inched farther along the  
ledge, praying to each and every God that she'd ever learned of for   
support and help.   
But nothing helped. For hours upon hours she climbed, until the   
clouds around her blocked the vast blueness of the ocean and until the   
clouds above her grew thicker.  
Eventually, all there was were clouds. Thick, fog-like clouds,   
blocking her view and chilling the already cool air. Shivering, she   
grabbed onto of a handhold in the rock.  
Upon her touching it, the handhold crumbled in her palm, leaving her  
to grasp only air. She held back a scream. Everything would be alright.   
Everything had to be alright.  
In her mind, she could see all eight of her children--Lyra, Becky,   
Bobby, Celeste, Paul, Sarah, Johnny, and Lila--playing together and   
running through the big white house on Venus Street. She could see the   
look that had graced Andrew's face when she'd first announced her   
pregnancy with Lyra. She could see her friends on the day they'd first   
met, their faces aglow with sweat from the battle with Zoycite and   
Malachite. And she could see Serenity on the day that she and Endymion had  
said their vows.  
And, at that exact moment, the Mistress of the Planet Venus knew   
that she was going to die.  
With a deep, brave breath, she continued to inch along the crumbling  
ledge, her ears picking up the faint but harrowing sound of rock giving   
way and breaking off. For some reason, she could hear the soft splashes.   
And she knew she did not have long to live.   
"God save the Mistresses," she whispered, hand flying to the gold   
cross around her neck. "God save the Scouts."   
She felt no fear nor regret as the ledge gave way beneath her feet   
and she began to fall toward the ocean.  
"And God save me."  
The splash echoed off the cliff wall and into the air.  
************  
  
Do the stars know all?  
"I think they do."  
************  
  
Taking a deep breath, she stepped slowly forward. Shivers ran up and  
down her spine as she straightened to her full height of five feet and let  
her brown eyes focus on the expanse of hallway before her.  
As long as she could remember, nothing had been more frightening to   
her than Crystal Palace. The building was extremely large, its top spires   
stretching into the clouds and beyond. She'd always been a superstitious   
child, really, her father's Halloween stories scarring her for life.  
The footfalls of gold boots echoed through the hall as, slowly,   
Sailor Polaris made her way toward the looming marble door. There, at the   
end of the hall, it stood--foreboding as its real-life counterpart.  
Or was this real-life? Sailor Polaris shuddered to think of it. What  
was going on? One minute, she'd been yelling the word 'teleport' and   
zipping through the air like a rocket. The next...  
In all the visits she'd made to the Palace, it had never looked so   
very spooky. The marble seemed dim, listless, and nothing moved. The   
silence, really, was deafening in and of itself.  
"HELP!" screamed a young voice from beyond the doorway.  
The Scout bristled. She'd already heard that scream once, and it   
sounded exactly like Celeste. But it was her duty to protect Celeste. That  
child was destined. SHE was destined.  
A fleeting thought of Tara's vision floated into her mind. Sailor   
Chibi-Star--Celeste Ann Mokoti--was going to die. With or without the help  
of her sister? Who could tell?  
Taking a deep breath, Polaris laid a hand on one of the Crystal   
doorknobs. Behind those doors was Reeny's room. A room that the Galactic   
Sailors had spent much time in. A room that was a lot like home, really,   
to the Scout.   
She threw the doors open and gasped.  
In the room was Celeste, bound to a chair and gagged with some sort   
of cloth. And, hovering above her prone form, was a young man in a dark   
tuxedo, his characteristic red hair blowing in the breeze which flowed   
through the open window. He turned to look at Sailor Polaris, and the teen  
shuddered before speaking.  
"Richard." Her tone was dry as she stepped forward. "What are you   
doing?"  
A silver dagger sparkled in the tiny shaft of sunlight that flowed   
from the window. He smiled evilly and raised it above the child. "Doing   
what is right..."  
Polaris couldn't hesitate. No time could be lost. And, Richard or   
not...  
"Starry Sky... SMASH!"  
The ball of stardust caught the young man off guard and it smashed   
him. His form turned to dust.  
A slight smile tugged at her lips. It hadn't been Richard at all!   
She was remarkably relieved.   
"Lyra!" cooed the child as her sister neared her. "I didn't think   
I'd ever see you again! I thought that the bad Richard would kill me!"   
The knots untied easily, and the Scout stared blankly at the ropes   
as her sister bounded out of the seat and smoothed her own purple skirt.   
Celeste was a master at untying knots...  
"Hey, 'Leste?" questioned Polaris, not turning around. "Were these   
knots at all loose?" She turned her head slowly...  
Just in time to see Sailor Chibi-Star aim the dagger at her back.  
With a well-timed kick, the taller Scout knocked the knife from her   
sister's hands, smiling as it soared through the open window. Chibi-Star   
scowled and, with a grunt, dove for the older Scout.  
But Polaris had seen it coming. Deftly, she landed a punch in her   
sister's stomach and leapt out of her reach. The girl collapsed to the   
floor, cowering against the wall.  
"You're not Celeste," Polaris confronted her, brown eyes glaring.   
"Who are you?"  
The little girl tossed a blonde pigtail and, wordlessly, toppled   
over the mahogany table next to her. With a shriek, her sister avoided the  
projectile and let her reflexes take over.  
"Starry Sky... SMASH!"  
Chibi-Star was no more.  
Her breath catching in her throat, Sailor Polaris watched the world   
around her turn black. What had she done? She'd KILLED her sister! She'd   
killed her little sister!  
No. That couldn't have been Celeste. It was something else. An...an   
illusion...  
A gasp escaped her lips as she landed on a cool, black floor. The   
room had some sort of domed roof, and she let out a sigh.  
Across the room stood Sailor Earth.  
************  
  
Can you be sure?  
"Nothing is ever sure."  
************  
  
The Mistress of Mercury took a deep breath and looked at the empty   
house. She'd lived in that home since she'd married her husband. On the   
third day of her life, a beautiful blue-haired baby named Phoebe Solaria   
had come home to that home. And now...  
Greg dropped a large box at her feet. "So long, Amy."  
Smoothing the blue gown, the Mistress touched the box slightly and   
held back tears. "I...I don't..." She started again. "I don't understand,   
Greg. What changed?"  
"We changed," he spat, as though he were repeating the concept to a   
small child for the hundredth time. "I just don't love you."  
Amy shuddered. Nothing made sense. She'd opened her eyes to find   
herself in the middle of a green front lawn. The Galactic Sailors were   
supposed to be fighting the ultimate evil, and there she was, with her   
husband by her side. Telling her that he didn't love her anymore. Telling   
her that she was a failure as a wife and mother. Telling her...  
"I don't GET it," she stressed, folding her arms across her chest   
like an angry teen would. "What could change so fast that..."  
She was interrupted by him slapping her across the face. "You   
ungrateful little FAILURE," he snapped irritably. "You don't get it   
because you're stupid." He kicked at the large box. "Just like you always   
have been."  
Tears brimmed in her eyes as he stormed past her, climbing into his   
blue Mercury and driving off. Two years ago, when he had purchased the   
car, they'd laughed at the irony that vehicle represented. Now, it just   
wasn't funny.  
A teen girl with blue-black hair rushed out of the house, pulling   
the straps of a backpack onto her shoulders. "Why can't you be a good   
mother?" Phoebe asked dryly, glaring at the woman. "Why do you have to   
fail at everything you do?"  
Anger brimmed within her soul. Amy was never angry. She was the   
Mistress with the gentle soul. She was always kind and loving. She wasn't   
anything beside that.   
She turned away from her daughter. "Phoebe, I would appreciate it   
if you would just drop the subject..."  
"Because of you," continued the girl, "I no longer have a father.   
Because of you, all I have is an empty house that I'm forced to move out   
of. Because of you..."  
Amy whirled around, slapping Phoebe across the face. The glint of   
something silver caught her eye, and she gasped.   
Her daughter had a gun.   
"Don't move, Mercury," she commanded in a deep voice, much unlike   
her normal timbre. "If you move so much as an inch, I shoot."  
The woman put her hands into the air, her navy eyes not leaving the   
gaze of the girl. "Who are you?"  
Laughing, 'Phoebe' dropped her guard. "Do you know how many of your   
little friends have asked that?" she inquired, amused. "More than I can   
count, I'll tell you that!" Ice-colored eyes flickered. "But you, my dear   
Merc, don't know what you're up against."  
The fake Phoebe continued to laugh. Amy saw it as her only chance   
and, wordlessly, slipped one of her shoes off and held it tentatively   
behind her back.   
"And another thing," continued the teen, still chortling a bit.   
"What is it with these Scouts and their loyalties? Why do they always go   
out of their way to be so kind and gentle and..."  
Throwing the shoe suddenly, the Mistress smiled as it smacked the   
fake Phoebe in the face. Rearing back, she fired the gun once--then   
twice--into the air, dropping it as she clutched her face.  
Only as Mercury dove for the weapon did the monster realize its   
mistake.  
"Okay, you," spat the Mistress, grasping the gun tightly in her   
shaking hands, "I want answers. Who are you?"  
"Kill me," challenged the creature, obviously unafraid. Amy made no   
move toward it, and it laughed, tossing one of Phoebe's braids behind its   
shoulder. "I thought so. You can't kill me because I look like your   
daughter."  
Taking in a deep breath, Mercury cocked the pistol. "You have no   
idea why I'm not killing you," she responded slowly. "It might just be   
because I want answers."  
With a shrug, the Phoebe-monster smiled sweetly. "You're not getting  
any," it retorted.  
And the gun went off, lodging a bullet in its chest and killing the   
creature.   
As the world she was in dematerialized, Amy smiled in triumph. It   
was fake. She'd always known it. That was the one thing that kept her   
going forward.   
And she landed in a room with two of the Sailor Scouts.  
************  
  
Do you love them all?  
"Of course I do."  
************  
  
Sailor Phoenix bristled as she read the report card that was in her   
hands. It couldn't be right.  
She'd found herself at home, suddenly, her body in her desk even   
though she'd never recalled sitting down in it. In fact, she'd never   
really recalled making it home. Not, of course, that she would openly   
admit that fact.   
Something was wrong. She knew it was. It just didn't make sense for   
her to suddenly be at home. Alone. With a really awful report card.  
"GPA," she read aloud off the paper, voice weak. "2.35 out of 5.0."  
A voice radiated into the room from behind her, and she grimaced   
upon hearing it.  
It was feminine. "We sent you to Crystal Music Academy hoping for   
the very best," it said in a dry, clinical tone. "We did not get those   
results."  
Phoenix turned around to see her mother's face. The pale porcelain   
cheeks, the bright navy eyes, the beautiful, silky, short blue hair... It   
was almost too much to bear. She lowered her eyes to the floor and sighed.  
"All my life," Amy continued, crossing her arms over the white lab   
coat, "I hoped for a daughter who would make me proud. One I could love,   
trust... One who would make me feel REAL..." She shook her head. "You have  
failed me, Phoebe."  
The girl choked back tears. "I'm sorry..."  
"Sorry was never good enough," spat the woman angrily, tossing her   
head. "And it surely isn't now."  
Hanging her head, the Sailor Scout listened as her mother walked out  
of the room and shut the door softly behind her.  
This was too much. She couldn't deal with all the pressure and hate   
that her mother showed her. Taking a deep breath, she picked up her pencil  
and wrote a brief note. Saying she was going out.   
Running down the street toward the bridge, Sailor Phoenix cried. For  
the first time in years, she really cried. She cried for herself. She   
cried for her mother and father. She cried for the realization that,   
perhaps, she was finally worth nothing.  
Not that she had ever been worth anything to anyone.  
Reaching the bridge, she felt her breath catch in her throat. There   
stood her father, his pale, strong features sort of...calling...to her.   
"Dad?" she choked, wiping the tears from her face and hugging herself.  
His voice was soft, but she heard the three words loud and clear.  
"I am ashamed."  
Gulping, she watched him turn, dark eyes filled with anger and   
disappointment. "I have fought--for eons, mind you--with your mother to   
keep you in a place you belong." He shook his head slowly, brown eyes  
never leaving her face. "And now you go and let me down."  
Her fingers tugged on the edge of her crimson skirt. "But... Dad..."  
He shook his head and walked away.  
Sobbing more loudly than before, Phoenix leaned against the bridge's  
guard railing, watching the blue of the river rushing past. Her eyes hurt   
from staring as the sunlight reflected off the water.  
She meant nothing to her parents, now. Nothing. She was just a   
stupid letdown in a Sailor fuku.   
Slowly, carefully, she stepped up onto the stone bridge railing,   
staring at the water below. It was, at most, one hundred feet to fall. Not  
too far.  
Staring down at her orange ballet slippers, she sighed and wiped the  
tears from her cheeks. Expertly raising one foot, then the other, she   
pulled of her shoes and tied the laces together. Her parents, if they   
found them on the rail, would know what happened.  
If they cared.  
She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. "'It is a far, far   
better thing I do'," she whispered to the slight wind, "'than I have ever   
done'." She smiled slightly at her words. Quite fitting that the last   
words of "A Tale of Two Cities" would be the last words that a fourteen-  
year-old actress would chose. She sighed. "'And it is a far, far better   
rest I go to than I have ever known'."  
Sailor Phoenix jumped.  
And the water was cold.  
************  
  
How much do you love them?  
"Enough to save them."  
************  
  
The burning aircraft before her sent shivers up and down her spine.  
Where was she? Where was Alice?  
A young brunette man stepped toward the woman, not at all surprised   
by her appearance. It was as though strange women in hunter-green velvet   
gowns often watched burning planes.   
"Ma'am?" The man was addressing her. "Ma'am?"  
Lita, the Mistress of Jupiter, glanced at him with darting green   
eyes. "Yes? Yes?"  
He smiled slightly. "Only one died in the accident, ma'am," he   
assured her sweetly. "She was a young teen, traveling alone..."  
She gasped.  
She had been graced with no memory of what was going on. All she   
knew was that Alice was on that plane. The one before her. The burning   
plane. And, for some reason, it didn't seem odd. Not at all. It seemed...  
Almost right?  
And now, Alice was dead.  
"Are you sure?" she inquired of the man, turning away as he nodded   
weakly. Her eyes filled with tears.   
Alice was gone. Completely gone. There was no hope. None at all.   
Except...  
She glanced at the man. "Can I see the body?"  
He furrowed his brow, but the hopeful, helpless expression on her   
face was too much to bare. He nodded.  
They walked in silence across the field, Lita with her hands folded   
across her waist. There was, at least, something that she could make   
right.  
Her entire life, she'd not been special. She'd just been one of the   
Sailor Scouts. And then a Planet Mistress. She used the power of   
lightning. The power of nature. And now, all she could do was protect.  
And heal.  
It had been written, years ago, that the Scouts, in their strongest   
forms, could give up their lives to save another. And she would.  
For the longest time, nothing scared her more than the thought of   
her losing her powers. Her specialty. The one thing that made her more   
than a mere mortal.  
Losing Alice made her fear of losing her powers look how a child's   
being afraid of the Bogeyman looked to a rational adult.  
The man grimaced suddenly, and she knew at that moment that they   
were coming upon the body. She nodded and shooed him off, her green eyes   
drawn to the figure.  
Auburn hair was matted with grass and blood. Her eyes were closed,   
but a terrified expression was painted on her pale, beautiful face. Lita   
felt her knees weaken. This was all that was left of her child.  
To her untrained eyes, it appeared that one of Alice's arms--as well  
as both her legs--had been broken in the crash. Her skull was cracked in   
two places. She looked... She looked like something out of a horror movie,  
and it took all of Lita's strong will to glance at it.  
Kneeling, Lita removed her beads from around her neck, where they   
automatically morphed to at transformation. Fingers trailing to the locket  
that accompanied them, she held back tears. "Alice..." she breathed,   
wetting her parched lips. "Alice, you mean more to me than my own life."  
Green eyes closed as she raised the locket above her head. "Jupiter   
Power!" she screamed, voice echoed through the field. "Save this girl!"  
The overwhelming nausea of having all the strength drain out of her   
knocked her onto her back in the grass. Her death grip on the locket   
loosened, and Lita sighed. Soon, she would be dead.  
But Alice would live.  
From above her, somewhere, she could hear the young man laugh.   
"Aren't we a clever Mistress?" it inquired sourly. "Giving up our powers--  
killing ourselves--for a mannequin."  
"No..." whispered Jupiter, struggling for breath. "This wasn't   
supposed to happen..." She opened her eyes just enough to see the man   
smile down at her.  
"But," he retorted, "it did."  
Somehow, she managed to listen to his shoes on the grass as he   
walked away. Only that much of her conscious mind was still alive.  
And then, in a single exhale, the footsteps died out forever.  
************  
  
Even if it means risking your life?  
"I do love them."  
************  
  
Sailor Aurora Borealis leaned against the door of the tiny bathroom  
stall, the darkness enveloping her body as she caught her breath.  
She was on a plane. She'd opened the door and she'd seen a   
stewardess. She was on a plane. Planes were small, cramped, high-up   
places. Planes... Planes crash.   
But the bathroom was dark. She sighed. Trapped between a rock and a   
hard place.  
"Where is everyone else?" she asked aloud, sinking to the floor and   
pulling her knees to her chest. "How could I be the only Sailor Scout to   
be here?"  
Tara had said that she hadn't been in the vision. Was that it? She'd  
not been in the vision because she hadn't made it to the starship?  
No. No. That couldn't be right. Why would she--the only Scout with a  
defensive attack--be left behind?  
Unless, of course, she was unimportant...  
A knock sounded at the door. "Are you alright, miss?" came a chipper  
yet concerned voice. Aurora Borealis stood slowly and opened the door.  
It was a young, chesty stewardess, with hair the color of molten   
gold and bright copper eyes that reminded her of Orb's. "I'm...fine..."   
she managed weakly, faking a smile. "Just fine."  
Handing the teen a small bottle, the woman grinned sweetly.   
"Dramamine," she informed the teen. "It keeps you from being airsick."  
"But I'm not..." Not wanting to seem ungrateful, she smiled and   
grabbed a Sprite of the stewardess' cart. "Thank you."  
As she walked down the aisle to the only open seat--one way in the   
back of the plane--she pondered the turn of events. Was she really left   
behind because she was worthless? Was she that very dispensable? She   
glanced down at the little bottle of orange tablets and poured two into   
her open palm. She most definitely wasn't airsick, but wasn't it better to  
be safe than sorry?  
Popping the can of soda open, she gasped and dropped the pills to   
the blue-carpeted floor. What if the reason she had not appeared was the   
fact that she wasn't dead...yet.  
She pretended to place the two pills in her mouth and take a swig of  
her Sprite, but her brown eyes were intent on the golden-haired woman the   
entire time. Sure enough, the stewardess saw Aurora Borealis' motion. And,  
sure enough, she grinned evilly.   
Standing slowly, she walked down the aisle, trying her hardest to   
fake being green. The young woman cocked her head at the Sailor-fukued   
teen. "You alright?" she asked softly.  
The auburn-haired Scout shook her head slowly, clutching one hand to  
her stomach. Hobbling toward the countertop, she leaned against it. "I   
don't feel so good..."  
"Well, you took your Dramamine," put in the stewardess sweetly.   
"I'm sure you'll be fine..."  
Shaking her head, Aurora let her free hand grope around on the   
counter for something--anything--to oppose the woman with. Her fingers   
closed around a butter knife. Groaning inwardly, she continued her search.  
"I really don't think that the Dramamine will help this sickness," she   
protested. "I think that this might be because of the medicine..."  
"Are you allergic?" The stewardess reached for the counter...  
Acting as quickly as possible, Aurora Borealis grabbed onto the   
handle of some sort of frying pan and brought it down on the strange   
woman's head, watching as her body went limp and blood trailed from her   
skull. The Scout gulped. She'd killed the woman.  
The plane, the seats--everything--went black, and she felt herself   
fall slowly...  
And she was in a black marble room with two of the Scouts and one of  
the Mistresses.  
************  
  
And?  
"And, if that's what it comes to, I will."  
************  
  
The world was red.  
Red and black and gray and brown.  
Slowly, carefully, Mistress Uranus paced up and down what was once a  
sidewalk. Around her, buildings that had once been tall were leveled,   
people that had once been alive were nothing more than rotting mounds of   
flesh, and above...  
The sun was black.  
"What could have caused this?" wondered Alexandra aloud, running a   
shaking hand through her short hair. "It seems so familiar..."  
It was the Silence.  
Just like the picture that, so long ago, Michelle had painted, the   
world was desolate and empty. The city was practically flat. The world was  
almost destroyed. And somewhere...  
Somewhere, there would be a young woman wielding a Silence Glaive. A  
young Messiah of Dark whispering the words "Death Reborn Revolution".   
And nothing would ever be the same.  
The mere thought of the Silence sent shivers down her spine as she   
walked, her navy and gold gown somehow sparkling in the black sun. How   
could she defend the world from this? And, more so...  
How could she kill her daughter?  
So many unanswered questions roared through her head as she walked   
through what had once been Tokyo, her footfalls echoing around the carnage  
and ruin. What could she do? She was only one person...  
"If I had to pick one thing I am most afraid of," she sighed, body   
trembling, "it would be this."  
"The end of the world frightens you, Papa?" came a hissed, soft   
voice.  
The Mistress whirled around on her heels, coming face-to-face with a  
young girl. She was no older than thirteen, fourteen, and her shoulder-  
length black hair was a disaster. A tattered, worn brown-gray cape   
fluttered in some sort of unseen, unfelt breeze, and--clutched in her   
fists--was the Silence Glaive.  
It was an enormous, frightening weapon of mass destruction, its   
razor-sharp G-shaped blade glistening in the black sun. The young Hannah   
twirled it idly above her head, as though it was a cheerleader's baton   
rather than a nightmarish death tool. Alex shivered and stumbled backward.  
This was her nightmare...  
Come true.  
Hannah laughed, purple eyes turning red for a brief moment. "If you   
are so afraid," she smirked, "kill me. You can kill me, and that will end   
this all."  
"I'm not afraid of anything!" lied the Mistress, glaring at the   
child and trying to remind herself that this demon was not her daughter.   
But, it was. Just not the same version.  
"Spare me, Alexandra," spat evil Hannah, snorting. "I've known you   
for eons. Nothing you say can convince me. Confess the truth."  
The blonde tossed her head. "There's no truth in it, Hannah," she   
retorted coolly. "You don't know what you're talking about..."  
"Ahh," nodded the other, "but I do. One of us will not survive this   
meeting."  
And the Glaive sparkled in the dark sun.  
Uranus took a long, deep breath and let her shoulders slump forward.  
"Hannah, whether you are evil or not," she sighed, "I love you. And this   
will hurt me to do, but..."  
Diving for the Messiah of Silence, the Mistress drove a punch toward  
the girl's chin. Deftly, she dodged the punch, and she used her short   
advantage to ram the butt end of the Glaive's staff into Uranus' gut. The   
Mistress grunted and rolled to the side, avoiding the blade by scant   
inches.  
Nothing mattered, now. All she had to do was kill the Messiah of   
Silence. That was all...  
Her chance from so long ago was renewed...  
She was too caught up in her petty thoughts to see the fist slam   
into her face. Stunned, she scrambled backward, once again avoiding the   
wrath of the Glaive.  
"This is madness!" she screamed to Hannah as they stood four feet   
apart, glaring madly into each other's eyes. "Neither of us shall win!"  
Nodding, the child let the Glaive go slightly limp in her grip. "I   
am sorry," she choked, purple eyes losing their evil quality and brimming   
with tears. "Will you forgive me?"  
Uranus smiled and stepped slowly forward. "Of course..."  
With those two, gentle words, Hannah tightened her grip on the   
Glaive and brought the broad, flat side of the silver metal down onto the   
Mistress' head. There was the sickening sound of cracking bone as the   
woman collapsed, still a bit conscious.   
Clutching her head, the sandy-haired blonde glanced up. "How could   
you?" she breathed. Blinking gray-green eyes, she groaned. "This isn't   
real..."  
"Maybe not as compared to Earth," admitted the evil Hannah-creature  
with a slight smile. "But, for you, this is very real."  
And the Glaive sparkled in the dark sun.  
"Death Reborn Revolution."  
How easy it is to end the world.  
************  
  
Even if it means death?  
"I love them."  
************  
  
She'd never felt so free.   
The wind danced with her short brown hair as she zipped along,   
through curves and straight-aways, the gentle purr of the motorcycle   
soothing as she rode.  
"I wonder," thought Sailor Comet aloud, "why I was always so afraid   
of these things."  
She'd not remembered much about the last ten or so minutes.   
Everything was a blur, really. A shocking, strong blur. All she knew was   
that she was on a motorcycle, riding through the country, fancy free. And   
she'd never had so much fun before.  
So much could so easily change. And she knew that. She knew that as   
much as the next person did.   
All her life, Comet had been terrified of her mother. When Alex   
would get that gleam in her eyes and mount her monstrous motorbike, all   
logical thoughts would leave her mind and she would be inspired... Well,   
inspired to speed, cut corners, and take turns too fast.  
Once, when she'd been eight or nine, she and Hannah had followed   
their blonde parent in the family car, going as fast as her, taking curves  
recklessly, not caring...  
And, when they had wrecked the family car... Comet shuddered despite  
the amused smile that crossed her face.   
Flying fancy-free down the road. Being the wind. She suddenly   
understood. She understood how her mother could have, for years, been so   
reckless and unrestrained.  
Because it was the only way to be.  
Nothing mattered to Sailor Comet anymore. The breeze licked her   
brown hair; the wind stung her teal eyes. The skirt of her fuku was   
plastered against her stomach from the rough, unmistakable power of the   
wind. Everything was as it should have been.  
Like a dream.  
"I wish..." Breathing in the crisp air, she smiled sweetly. "I wish   
this was reality."  
But the truth hurt. The truth cut like a knife. And, well... To know  
that she wasn't truly riding through the country, soaring on a bike like a  
bird on wings...   
She didn't want the truth to come for her.  
A sharp, unexpected curve caught her off-guard, and she tried her   
best to balance out while turning and braking at the same time.  
And, though she was Sailor Comet, she didn't understand motorcycles.  
Something locked up and the bike toppled over onto its side,   
dragging her with it as it flew into oncoming traffic. Screaming, she   
closed her eyes and grimaced as she felt her bare legs being pulled across  
the rough pavement.  
Car horns screeched. Brakes squealed.  
And, suddenly, Sailor Comet remembered why she was so afraid of   
motorcycles.  
************  
  
How long will you love them?  
"Until the end."  
************  
  
Mistress Neptune dove deeper into the cool, crystalline water of the  
sea, the smile on her pale face hidden to none. There was something...  
magical...about the water. She'd always felt so... Since she was a child,   
she'd delighted the feeling of the sweet water flowing over her body.   
She'd fallen into the cool, perfect water without any warning, her   
blue eyes growing wide as she realized that there really was no end to the  
water. It was an unending expanse of perfect blue. She smiled slightly.   
How sweet it truly was.  
As she came out of the water for air, she allowed a sweet smile   
cross her face. "This..." she breathed aloud, laying on her back in the   
ocean. "This is wonderful..."  
The aqua velvet of her gown was absolutely soaked through, but that   
did not bother her. Her hair was matted against her face, but that did not  
bother her. The salt water and the sun both stung her eyes, but that did   
not bother her. All was perfect...  
She started, gasping as frightening thoughts entered her mind. Where  
was Alex? Where was Hannah? And Haley? And all the others...  
This sea world she was alone in... It suddenly wasn't as great as it  
had been. Treading water, Neptune tried to collect her thoughts. Nothing   
made sense. Where were they? How could they not be with her? What was   
happening?  
Looking toward the horizon, she began to swim. Her progress was slow  
at first but, as she became more determined and afraid, she began swimming  
faster. She had to find her wife and the others! She had to find her   
daughters! She had to!  
Coming upon a coral reef, she sighed. Normally, the sight of the   
bright coral and of the beautiful fish would have excited her. But she   
couldn't stop. Not for anything.  
As she swum above the reef, she began increasingly nervous. Sea   
cucumbers lived in reefs. She hated sea cucumbers. They were spongy...   
They were squishy... They were gross.  
She laughed in spite of herself and pulled a few aqua-colored hairs   
from her eyes. The Mistress of the Sea... Afraid of cucumbers. That was a   
good one!  
Suddenly, her foot caught on something. Screaming in surprise, she   
tried to kick whatever-it-was away. Her other foot was suddenly caught and  
she was pulled under the water's surface.  
Kicking and paddling furiously with her arms, Michelle tried   
earnestly to break free of the captor. Nothing helped. She was trapped   
by...something...  
Her blue eyes focused on her high-heeled feet, and shivers ran down   
her spine. Sea cucumbers. Brown sea cucumbers. Millions of them. They were  
holding her down, under the water.  
And, if she didn't act quickly, they would kill her.  
Struggling, the woman managed to bring her face to the surface just   
long enough to take a breath. Diving back into the water, she glared at   
the cucumbers.   
They were not going to win.   
Holding out a hand, she said a silent prayer to the god of the sea--  
her god, Neptune--for support and help.  
"Neptune Power!" she screamed, her voice choked by the water.  
All the sea cucumbers disappeared suddenly, freeing her feet and let  
her come, sputtering and coughing, to the surface of the ocean.  
As she floated on her back, trying her very best to catch her   
breath, she felt the world she was in start to...shake? Treading water   
once again, she watched as the sky, the water, and the reef--the entire   
world--turned black and began to swirl around her. Mistress Neptune   
gasped. It had all been a mirage of sorts? But... But that didn't make   
sense...  
And she was delivered into a room to join three Sailor Scouts and   
another Mistress.  
************  
  
Is this the end?  
"I think not."  
************  
  
Pacing back and forth down the room's length, she sniffled and   
clenched her fists. Why... Why did this all seem so wrong? Why did this   
world not seem right?  
The house she was in was small, cramped... Desolate, really. Whose   
house was it? It looked like her house, but...  
She walked to the coffee table and picked up a stack of greeting   
cards, her purple eyes examine each one. 'Our condolences'... 'Sorry for   
your loss'... 'Hope is a walking dream'...  
The Mistress of Saturn furrowed her brow. What was going on? Had   
someone died? Was that what the cards meant?  
Summoning all her courage, she slowly pulled a random card from the   
pile. "'No matter how bleak the road ahead'," she read aloud, smoothing a   
finger over the raised rose print on the card's front. "'We will be on   
your side'." She flipped the card open and glanced at the big, block print  
inside. 'Sorry for your loss'. And then, she gasped.  
Written under the block lettering was a message in the scrolling,   
free script that could only belong to Reeny. She would recognize that   
writing anywhere. And beneath her message, it was signed: "Reen, Ambry,   
and Diana".  
She read the hand-written message once, then twice, than three   
times. Her knees felt week. Her stomach churned. It couldn't be right. It  
just couldn't be right. If that card was telling the truth...  
"You alright?" came a soft, cautious voice. Hannah whirled around to  
see her sister--the sweet, unimposing side of Haley--standing in the   
doorway to the living room. A sad, hopeful smile was painted upon her   
tanned face as she cocked her head toward the Mistress. "I heard you   
reading the cards again..."  
Collapsing onto the blue couch behind her, Hannah clenched the sides  
of her gown in her fists and held back tears. "What...what happened?"  
Haley shrugged, shaking her head and slowly coming over to the   
couch. "He was killed in a car accident," she responded softly, sweetly.   
"You ask this every day, and every day we answer you..."  
The young woman suppressed a scream. So, it was true. Brian--her   
one, her only...her soul mate--was dead. And buried. "Did... Was it..."  
"He died instantly. No pain." Haley slumped down onto the couch next  
to her sister and squeezed her hand. "Why do you always repeat these   
questions?"  
Hannah leaned back into the couch, trying her best not to cry. Her   
soul mate, her eternal partner... He was gone.   
Wait! Her mind did a double take. Brian couldn't be dead! He could   
only die if she died!  
Looking to the brunette girl, the Mistress stood quickly and paced   
over to the house's front window. Looking out on Crystal Tokyo, she   
cleared her throat. "You liar."  
"What?" questioned the teen.  
"Brian cannot die," she responded coolly. "He's eternal. He cannot   
die unless..."  
Trailing off, she allowed the Silence Glaive to appear in her hands.  
Slowly, she turned to look at the younger girl. "Who are you?" she asked   
dryly, bringing the tip of the G-shaped blade to point at the girl's   
chest.  
Haley laughed. "I'm your sister, silly!" she giggled, not at all   
frightened by the sharp, deadly blade that nearly touched her chest. "Oh,   
yee of little faith!"  
The tip of the blade touched the very center of the girl's chest as   
the Mistress of Death lowered her eyes. "You are a liar and you are not   
Haley." She took a deep breath. "Would you like to come clean, or should I  
just kill you now?"  
Teal eyes flashed evilly as the girl leaned back into the couch.   
"Kill me." She smirked. "I dare you."  
Hannah hardly had to lean forward on the Glaive. It moved a few   
inches and plunged into the fake Haley's chest. The body of the girl   
disintegrated quickly into dust.  
Relief showed on the young woman's face as she watched the room turn  
black and fade. It hadn't been real. Brian was alive and well.  
And so was she.  
As well as two other Mistresses and three of the Scouts, she   
observed upon arriving elsewhere.  
************  
  
Is this the beginning?  
"I hope not."  
************  
  
She ran. Ran from danger. Ran from evil.  
Memories of her first Scout experience folded her mind. She   
remembered the first time she yelled her attack, the first time the   
Starlight Prince smiled at her, and the first time the other Sailor Scouts  
had smiled down upon her, his bright blue eyes sparkling. And she also   
remembered Raider Greed.  
Yes, it was an irrational fear. Yes, it had no bearing. And, yes, it  
did hurt to think of it.  
But Sailor Chibi-Star was scared to death of Raider Greed.  
The footfalls of green, high-heeled boots echoed across the   
pavement, as did the sound of purple sandals making contact with the wet   
sidewalk. Her blonde pigtails flew about her face and behind her as she   
ran. But the horizon got no closer. The lamppost up ahead never passed. It  
was as though time had stopped.  
"Come back here!" screamed the raven-haired Raider, her green eyes   
alight with evil. "Fight like a real Sailor Scout!"  
The littlest Scout just shook her head and kept running. She wasn't   
a real Sailor Scouts. She was the Keeper of the Nebulae, really...  
She was going to die.  
Tara had told them all of the awful vision. The vision in which   
she--the small, weak, pitiful Scout--died. At first, she'd fought with her  
mind, swearing that she was in no danger and that she would be fine.   
Perfectly fine.  
But she was going to die. She didn't doubt it, now. Her pace slowed,  
then finally stopped as she turned around to face the tall, shapely Raider  
in green leather. Nothing moved as she took a deep breath and lowered her   
eyes.  
Because, death or not, she was going to put up a fight.  
"One-on-one," commanded Chibi-Star in a loud tone, voice echoing   
through the neighborhood. HER neighborhood, or some facsimile thereof.   
"Me and you. Winner takes all."  
Greed licked her wine-colored lips and smiled cockily. "I like those  
odds," she grinned. "But, let's further the wager."  
The girl stood taller. "What's that?"  
"No weapons." The Raider drew and discarded her sword, its blade   
sparkling in the sunlight.   
Nodding, the Sailor Scout pulled off her tiara and threw it to the   
ground. "That will suspend my powers," she vowed, bowing slightly. "This   
is going to be a clean fight."  
"Of course."   
There was a slight pause as the two stood, face-to-face, with one   
another. With destiny.  
And then, Chibi-Star ran toward the Raider, kicking and punching   
like a tiny whirlwind. Twice, she landed punches in the Raider's washboard  
stomach. Greed coughed and knocked the girl off her feet with little   
difficulty. The child sprang to her feet and dove for the Raider.  
But she'd expected that. A knee was plunged into the child's abdomen  
as she dove, but Chibi-Star managed to somersault and get back up, barely   
clutching her stomach. She jumped forward, kicking at Greed. She easily   
landed her kick in the Raider's left thigh, and the woman stumbled, but   
she didn't fall.  
Then, without warning, the Raider grabbed onto Chibi-Star's right   
arm and picked her up by it, throwing the girl onto the ground. Hard.   
The world went black for a moment in Chibi-Star's mind be   
brightening be up. Her vision was blurred, but she could see the   
green-garbed evil looming above her, holding a small, black-bladed knife.  
"You, Chibi-Star, are a worthy adversary," Greed chortled, kneeling   
beside the girl. "I'm just better."  
The knife flashed.  
And the Sailor Scout closed her green eyes.  
************  
  
Why not?  
"I do not know."  
************  
  
Seven.  
Seven of them.  
His blue-eyed gaze wavered as his eyes filled with tears. The   
girls...all of them...  
The Starlit Prince adverted his eyes from the bodies and gulped.   
This couldn't be right. Tara had said...  
But the Scouts liked to tease Tara because her visions were often   
wrong. Maybe...just maybe...she'd once again been wrong.   
No! His mind screamed at him. They couldn't all have died. Not all   
of them! Not...  
Not Lyra.  
"Rich?" came a soft, careful voice. He turned quickly around,   
knowing already who it was behind him. The voice was unmistakable.   
Her blonde curls were wet, matted to her head by water and dried   
blood. Her once-bright brown eyes were alight with fear. One of her two   
arms hung limply at her side, as though something was wrong with it. In   
looking at it, he sighed. It was quite obviously broken. The girl glanced   
at him lovingly, clutching her functional hand to a wound on her stomach.  
"I'm glad you're here..." Sailor Polaris breathed, taking a wobbly step   
forward. "I was worried."  
He blinked twice. "What... what happened?"  
"They were too strong," she managed in a shaky voice, swaying a bit   
as though she would fate. "They came and..." She shook her head. "I'm the  
only one who lived."  
The silence of the chamber was overwhelming as she gazed at him.   
Tears filled her eyes, and she stepped backward as he neared her.  
"Where were you, Rich?" she questioned, daringly. "Where were you to  
save us?"  
The Starlit Prince gulped. "I..." He sighed, almost crying himself.   
He'd lost her trust. "I...don't know..."  
She snarled at him. "Well, isn't that just well and good?" she asked  
dryly, holding back the tears as her eyes turned angry. "You abandoned   
us!"   
He stepped back. Her statement broke his heart.  
And yet, she pressed forward with it. "You left all of us alone, to   
DIE!" Her voice was an angry hiss. "You will regret this..." She raised   
one hand high above her head.  
The beginning of her attack.  
With a deep breath, he pulled three purple roses from null-space and  
pointed the tips of them at her chest. "I'm sorry, Lyra..." he whispered   
as she drew her hand from the air and downward, away from her body.  
"Starry Sky... Smash!"  
The ball of stardust, however large and however gold it was, was   
nothing difficult to avoid. In fact, it was rather easy to get around,   
and he jumped easily out of the way, landing on the opposite side of   
Sailor Polaris as she once again readied her attack.  
His deft accuracy was amazing as he threw the three roses at her   
turned back, watching in horror and grief as she fell forward. Dead.  
"I love you, Lyra," he whispered, watching in horror as the room   
turned black and faded out. The air seemed to wobble, and he found himself  
elsewhere.  
Sailors Polaris, Earth, and Aurora Borealis were in the room. As   
were Mistresses Mercury, Neptune, and Saturn.  
And Polaris was kneeling over a body.  
************  
  
Then what is this?  
"A supernova."  
************  
  
Sailor Polaris was crying.  
"Celeste..." she sobbed, burying her head in her gloved hands as   
she choked on the word. "Oh, Celeste..."  
The other Scouts and Mistresses stood to one side of the room, not   
saying a word.  
Large, black, and foreboding was the chamber. Bodies--bodies of   
their friends and, in some cases, their mothers--were strewn about the   
room, lying in different positions.   
For, there had been no battle. There had been a massacre.  
"Lyra..." whispered the Starlit Prince, stepping forward and placing  
a hand upon the girl's shoulder. "It will be alright."  
The brown-eyed Scout glanced up from her hands, only to look at the  
body. Blood, sticky and not yet dried, matted the girl's hair around a   
crack in her skull. In her chest, there was a wound from some sort of   
knife. Blood from both injuries dotted her Sailor fuku, and her sister   
choked back tears.  
What had happened? She asked the group that very question.  
Stepping forward, the Mistress of Mercury took a deep breath,   
adverting her eyes from the prone body of her daughter. "We were all   
placed in different worlds," she responded in a clinical voice.   
"Illusions, really. We all believed where we were to be real."  
Aurora Borealis nodded in agreement, strolling over and looking upon  
the form of her dead mother. She knelt, touching the beads that were   
clutched in her mother's left hand. "Some," she choked, almost unable to   
speak as she held the beads of Jupiter, "more than others."  
"What do we do, then?" questioned Neptune, wiping tears from her   
face as she cradled Uranus' body in her lap. "What do we do? We are   
obviously not strong enough!" Laying a soft kiss on her wife's forehead,   
she rose and crossed her arms over her chest, the wet fabric of her dress  
rough to the touch.   
Saturn ripped a long stretch of cloth from her gown and placed it   
over her sister's mutilated, bloody legs. "What can we do, Mother?" she   
responded, shaking her head as she looked at the girl's body. "We have to  
fight... To defend ourselves..."  
With a negative shake of her head, Sailor Earth sighed. "They   
probably tried that," she put in, her green eyes staring, shocked, at her  
mother. "And they died."  
"But we didn't." Polaris' voice was strong as she stood. She gazed   
at Richard for a long moment before turning to the other five people in   
the room. "We fight, we defend, and we live."  
Taking a shaking breath, Aurora Borealis blinked back tears and   
looped the string of beads around her neck. "This is something we must   
do."  
"For them," agreed Mercury, blinking back tears as she looked at   
Phoenix's shoeless, wet body. "For the ones we love."  
"And lost." Sailor Earth touched her mother's hand and wiped a   
falling tear from her cheek. The others all glanced at her, all   
overwhelmed by their private hurt.  
Removing his mask, the Starlit Prince scratched the side of his   
head. "I can't help but wonder what their last thoughts were..."  
"Probably," came a strong, foreboding voice, "they were about the   
incredible power of the Raiders!"  
All turned to look at the center of the chamber. In the middle of an  
odd, seven-pointed star stood a man. A man dressed in all black, a crimson  
cape bellowing out behind him. Dark, dull eyes stared at them as an evil   
smile crossed his face. "Welcome to the Raider Starship."  
The blonde Scout's voice was dry as she glared at the man. "Who the   
Hell are you?" she asked, clenching her fists.  
He laughed. "I'm the reason that your little friends are dead!" he   
announced loudly, laughter ear-splitting as he stared at her. "I am the   
King of the Raiders."  
Polaris tried to charge forward, but was stopped by on of her   
Prince's strong hands upon her shoulder. She struggled, but something   
beside Richard's hand stopped her.  
"We're going to kill you." Mistress Neptune closed her eyes and drew  
the Deep Aqua Mirror out of midair. "You do know that?"  
He laughed, and the others all bristled. Mercury's computer appeared  
in her hands, and Saturn gripped her Glaive.   
Sailor Aurora Borealis touched the locket and the beads softly.   
"Either you die, or we die." Her brown eyes narrowed. "And we'll tell you   
the outcome of choice."  
"Let's do it, Scouts," put in Earth, her tone strong. "Let's show   
him why we lived."  
Silver light sparkled and engulfed both Polaris and her prince.   
After a brief moment, the light faded.  
There, in a silvery gown with her Silver Star birthmark, stood the   
Princess of the Stars, hand-in-hand with the Prince of the Stars.  
The King scoffed, laughing a bit. "Who the Hell are you?"   
The Princess smiled. "Who here would like to show the nice Raider   
King what we're all about?" she asked in a sarcastically sweet tone. "Why   
don't we all show them?"  
Glancing at one another, then the Princess of the Silver Star, the   
remaining Scouts and Mistresses furrowed their brows.   
"Ummm..." Neptune glanced at her mirror and shrugged. "Submarine...   
REFLECTION!"  
A white light erupted from the outstretched mirror and enveloped the  
king, who screamed and tried, in vain, to move.  
"Damn you!" he yelled, glaring with those lifeless eyes at the   
Mistress. "Damn you!"  
With a slight laugh, Princess Lyra held one hand above her head.   
"This is for Mistresses Mars, Jupiter, Venus and Uranus." She paused,   
glancing at the fallen bodies of her closest friends. "This is for   
Sailors Moon, Phoenix, Comet and..." She gulped. "And for Sailor Chibi-  
Star."  
She pulled her hand down, toward the floor, and pushed it away from   
her body. "Starry Sky... SMASH!"  
Stardust fell from the ceiling, smashing the King's body and   
dispersing.   
There he laid. The body of evil.  
All was repaired.  
Suddenly, a silvery streak came out of the King's dead body and   
loomed above them. "Very nice," it laughed, two black eyes appearing in   
the form. "I'm impressed."  
The Scouts and Mistresses gasped.   
It was the Spirit of Silver.  
************  
  
She was floating in a sea of gold. Everything was gold.   
Slowly, questions entered her mind.  
And her lips answered.  
Do you hope?  
"Yes."  
What?  
"I hope to someday be free."  
Do you pray?  
"Yes."  
What?  
"I pray to the power of the stars."  
Do the stars know all?  
"I think they do."  
Can you be sure?  
"Nothing is ever sure."  
Do you love them all?  
"Of course I do."  
How much do you love them?  
"Enough to save them."  
Even if it means risking your life?  
"I do love them."  
And?  
"And, if that's what it comes to, I will."  
Even if it means death?  
"I love them."  
How long will you love them?  
"Until the end."  
Is this the end?  
"I think not."  
Is this the beginning?  
"I hope not."  
Why not?  
"I do not know."  
Then what is this?  
"A supernova."  
And she realized what she had to do.  
************  
  
Galactic Sailors Say!  
Phoebe: (appearing and squeezing water from her skirt) I'm a professional   
actress, kids. Don't try any of these tricks at home.   
  
(Video clip of Phoebe dancing to the end song from "Ami-chan no hatsukoi"  
[Ami's First Love], smiling and giggling as she does so)  
  
Phoebe: (blushing) How'd that get in there? (annoyed) Haley!  
  
Haley: (peeking head out of a window in the background) Yes?  
  
Phoebe: Clip 642!  
  
Haley: OH! Not clip 842?  
  
Phoebe: (groans)  
  
(Video clips of: Comet's cycle tipping, Phoenix jumping from the bridge,   
Chibi-Star being stabbed, Jupiter losing all her strength, Mars being   
choked, et cetera, et cetera)  
  
Haley: (sticking head out the window again) Sometimes, bad things do   
happen. We here at Galactic Sailors are professionals--this is what we DO   
for a living.   
  
Phoebe: (stupidly) No Sailor Scouts were harmed in the making of this   
picture!  
  
(Video clip of all seven Scouts sitting in their director-style chairs,   
sipping diet colas while make-up artists wipe fake blood off their faces)  
  
Haley: See?  
  
Phoebe: We all say...  
  
ALL: SEE YA!  
  
-I Know-  
Look around...  
(Tara, sitting next to Queen Serenity, stares up at the night sky)  
So many things aren't clear...  
(Phoebe looks blankly at a math book)  
Don't worry, though...  
(Lyra smiles while picking up her tuba)  
You know that I'll be there...  
(Sailor Pluto and Haley smile knowingly at each other)  
A lot of things are so uncertain...  
(Alice looks sadly at a clock while the sun sets over Crystal Tokyo)  
The future's on its way...  
(Reeny holds the Locket of the Moon, smiling)  
Look at my crying eyes...  
(Luna and Artemis console an upset Diana)  
Don't take your love away!  
(Hannah sighs, looking at a sleeping Haley)  
  
Sometimes, the road looks long...  
(Mina looks at her children with Andrew behind her)  
And sometimes, the world seems wrong...  
(Alex and Michelle smile at one another and then blush deeply)  
But I know, I know, all you need is love.  
(The six girls, untransformed, hold their lockets high)  
  
Sometimes, you feel weak...  
(Lita smoothes the hair of a crying Alice)  
And sometimes, the future looks bleak...  
(Raye and Chad stand behind Tara, who is staring at her locket)  
But I know, I know, all you need is love.  
(The six Galactic Sailors stand in a half circle)  
  
Times will change...  
(Amy looks out of a window and at Crystal Palace)  
People will change, too...  
(Endymion looks at Serenity, who is pouring over a book)  
But deep inside...  
(Lyra hugs Celeste)  
I always will love you...  
(Diana falls asleep on Reeny's lap)  
I suppose there are questions now...  
(Alice and Phoebe stare blankly at one another)  
The answers are so far...  
(Michelle stands in front of the orchestra, talking)  
But look at me and smile now...  
(Tara lovingly hugs her father)  
I am your guiding star!  
(Haley smiles at a studying Hannah)  
  
Sometimes, the road looks long...  
(Mina looks at her children with Andrew behind her)  
And sometimes, the world seems wrong...  
(Alex and Michelle smile at one another and then blush deeply)  
But I know, I know, all you need is love.  
(The six girls, untransformed, hold their lockets high)  
  
Sometimes, you feel weak...  
(Lita smoothes the hair of a crying Alice)  
And sometimes, the future looks bleak...  
(Raye and Chad stand behind Tara, who is staring at her locket)  
But I know, I know, all you need is love.  
(The six Galactic Sailors stand in a half circle)  
  
I know...  
(The Planet Mistresses stand in a circle)  
I know...  
(The Galactic Sailors stand in a circle)  
All you need is love...  
(The Mistresses and Sailors all stand together, holding hands, with their   
eyes closed)  
All you need...is...love...  
(A single purple rose sits in a vase)  
  
************  
  
Big-time notes here. Pay attention:  
  
1.) I want no flames. If I get flames, I will do one of two things. I will  
either write you back and be...not-so-kind...or I will discontinue   
Galactic Sailors and you will be stuck, completely stuck, with the plot as  
it is so far. Yes, the second is a blind threat, but...  
2.) I just jumped about a week ahead of schedule by getting this done.   
Forgive me!  
3.) This story and the next one (Galactic Sailors 13--Darkness Endures)   
are a bit shorter than normal. This is because there's not a whole lot of   
subject matter.   
4.) I would like to personally thank everyone who has read this far. I   
know that this is a really long series story and, yes--it will get   
longer. But, knowing that you all enjoy these stories... It really warms   
my heart. I finally amount to something.  
  
--KB--  



	13. Darkness Endures

Darkness Endures  
  
Author's Ramblings: So, what has happened in the world of our friends, the  
Galactic Sailors? What foul fate awaits them? What will happen next?   
I repeat the warning of this being on the short side. It probably will be   
a lot happier than the last one. No more dark humor or murder... Until,   
perhaps, second season!  
You know, I look back on this series and realize how hard I've worked and   
how proud I am. Proud that, in about 6 months, I have created an epic   
story of love, trust, and destiny.  
The Galactic Sailors.  
And I thank you for sharing it with me.  
************  
Last Time:  
  
The girls and their moms were taken to the Raider Starship. Sailors Moon,  
Comet, Phoenix, and Chibi-Star--as well as Mistresses Venus, Mars, Uranus,  
and Jupiter--died. Princess Lyra killed the Raider King, but the Spirit of  
Silver appeared.  
  
And that, my friends, is where the real story begins...  
************  
  
Sometimes, the road looks long...  
************  
  
It was the Spirit of Silver.  
"What the Hell are you?" questioned a rather angry Mercury, drawing   
her navy eyes away from the computer's screen and glancing at the silver   
mass before them. "You're like nothing I've ever seen."  
Most of the Scouts and Mistresses that remained stood in a corner of  
the chamber, afraid to move as the Spirit smiled. The exception to this   
was the Prince and his Princess. The duo stood near the center of the   
room, clutching their hands together, completely unmoving in the pale   
silver light that illuminated the room.   
It was as though time had frozen for a brief moment, suspending all   
of them in some sort of epic limbo as they watched the Spirit's face light  
up.  
"I have," it responded in a deep timbre, "been called many things."   
The black eyes darted about the room. "I have been called both God and   
Satan. I have been called a Savior and a destroyer. I have been called   
both good and evil. And I have been called the Raider King, for that body   
was my home." It paused, the vile smile spreading across its face. "But,   
more than any of those, the Raider race have called me the Spirit of   
Silver."  
"The...Spirit...of Silver?" repeated Sailor Earth, her green eye   
enormous as she cocked her head at the strange being before her. Her gaze   
then turned to the young couple--the Guardians of the Silver Star. Could   
they be at all related?  
The Spirit laughed, understanding what the look on the teen's face   
meant. "I don't know what the Silver Star is," it retorted, "and I'm not   
related to them."  
All of the living members in the room stared at the being as it   
grew silent. The chamber was filled with the sound of panting breaths as   
the Spirit drifted about, examining the various bodies.  
As the creature neared Venus' prone form, Lyra drew in a sharp   
breath and rushed forward, silver shoes clicking on the floor. "Don't you   
touch that body!" she screamed at the Spirit, angry but unafraid. "That's   
my mother!"  
"Lyra!" yelped Richard, thoroughly shocked but also helpless to do   
anything.  
Laughing, the Spirit watched as the Princess fell to her knees,   
throwing herself over the body. "You are brave, little one," he commented   
with a smile. "Impressively brave. I've never seen anything like you   
before."  
All of the others glanced at him as she slowly glanced up, her brown  
eyes sparkling with apprehension. "What?"  
"And it's a shame that I must kill you."  
************  
  
And, sometimes, the world seems wrong...  
************  
  
Her blue eyes ached from crying as she rolled over in bed, kicking   
the downy quilt off her legs.  
It had been, in Crystal Tokyo, dark for twenty-four hours.  
The Queen of the Earth rose slowly as she took deep breaths.   
Something was happening, and she knew it.   
Something that she had no control over was happening.   
"I'm so sorry..." she breathed, staring out at the sky. The clouds,   
now, were black as a raven's feather, and lightning flashed as often as   
her heart beat. Something...  
Something was wrong, up there. The Scouts and Mistresses were in   
trouble. In the past few hours, she'd felt the bond that she'd created   
with the Mistresses wane. And she knew.  
They were dying.  
"I wish I could be with you right now..." she whispered, closing her  
teary eyes as she hugged herself across the chest. "But I cannot."  
Thunder crashed and she jumped involuntarily, her face paling as she  
heard the sound. Taking a step back, she shook her head slowly. "And I   
will come to you, soon..." she trailed off, pausing as another crash   
sounded.  
"Just don't give up."  
************  
  
But I know, I know... All you need is love...  
************  
  
"Wait!" Sailor Earth gasped, watching at the Spirit loomed over her   
best friend--the Princess of the Stars. "You can't... You just can't..."   
She bristled as the black eyes peered through the dimly lit room and   
stared at her. "Why don't we make a deal?"  
Aurora Borealis held out a hand to the younger Scout. "Come here,   
Earth," she whispered, seeing the wicked, evil gleam in the black eyes.   
"It's not safe..."  
"You don't understand, do you?" The boots clicked on the marble   
floor. "You don't understand how much these people mean to us, do you?"   
Pulling off on of her gloves, the Shinto teen gestured around the room   
with her outstretched palm, a horrified expression plastered on her face.   
"All you know is hate, and destruction and..." Tears rolled down her face.  
"I love these people! I love them!"  
A flash of dark energy flew toward the Scout, and the Spirit   
laughed.  
And Sailor Earth closed her eyes.  
"Tara!" screamed the auburn-haired Scout. Diving, she knocked the   
girl's feet out from under her--knocked her to all upon her own self--and   
breathed a sigh of relief as the beam soared harmlessly into the wall.  
The raven-haired teen pulled herself of her fellow Scout, wincing.   
She'd landed on her wrist wrong.   
"You okay?" asked the older of the two, standing slowly and rubbing   
her head. "That would have hurt."  
Earth blinked. "You saved me..."  
The daughter of Jupiter winked. "I'm not as vile as you think I   
am..."  
"Well, how sweet..." commented the Spirit, leaning back in the air.   
"It's so nice to see your last moments be so filled with love..."  
Throwing down the Silence Glaive in anger, the youngest Mistress   
glared daggers at the silver being. Her purple eyes were filled with hate   
as she stared him down. "What's so important about our planet, anyway?"   
she inquired, gaze not wavering as the Spirit hovered closer. "Why do you   
want to kill us off?"  
It laughed at her. "I want to rule the universe," it chortled,   
reaching out for her with a long stream of silver light. "Why not kill   
off the most emotional, dispensable race in it?"  
"We are not as weak as you think," commented Mercury, touching two   
fingers to her left earring and bringing her VR visor across her navy   
eyes. "We can beat you." Her fingers flew across the keyboard of her tiny   
computer. "And you will see."  
Neptune ran her fingers, wordlessly, across the mirror's crystalline  
surface.  
The Starlit Prince, who stood relatively near his destined, nodded   
in agreement with Mercury's statement. "There is, after all, a thing we   
have called love." He glanced at Lyra, who was still kneeling at her   
mother's side. "It's eternal and very, very strong..."  
"That's what made Death and Greed so weak," commented the Spirit   
with a cocky chuckle. "That thing you call love."  
With a shake of her head, the aqua-haired Mistress looked up from   
her mirror. Her blue eyes were brimming with tears. "Right now, my beloved  
lays dead, as part of your doings." She smiled sadly and glanced for a   
long moment at the body of the tall, navy-garbed blonde. "As does my   
younger child." A tear rolled down one of her pale cheeks. "Nothing means   
more to me than the Mistress of Uranus. Nothing. Not my own life, not my   
destiny, and not my talisman." With a sigh, she wretched her gaze from the  
carnage and glanced up. The room smelt of blood as she spoke.  
"You will not do this."  
And fire erupted around them.  
************  
  
And, sometimes, you feel weak...  
************  
  
She swung the Time Key slowly, carefully, whilst pacing back and   
forth before the Gate of Time. Her black-and-crimson Sailor fuku blew   
slightly in the wind, as did her green hair. No sound radiated through the  
space except for a subtle crunching sound.  
"Will you stop it?" requested the Time Guardian, touching her hands   
to her temples. "That's the world's most annoying sound."  
Her knight glanced up from his seat against one of the two great   
marble pillars, and he extended the bag of popcorn toward her. "Want   
some?"  
Susan lowered her bright garnet eyes and turned toward him,   
accepting a few pieces of the snack. "I don't see how you can eat at a   
time like this," she shot with a shake of her head. "The world is in a   
limbo between good and evil and you..."  
"It's Pop Secret," he retorted calmly, his green eyes half-closed as  
her adjusted the weight of his silver-plated shoulder protectors and   
sighed. "And, besides, it takes my mind off things."  
She smiled slightly. "I wish I could say the same for myself."   
Chewing thoughtfully on a kernel, she shrugged her shoulders and gulped   
back tears. "They're dying, you know."  
He nodded. "I know."  
"And they may not come back..." She turned away, looking out across   
the vast expanse of thick, puffy clouds. "I've never been so scared,   
Terry. I could end up being alone..."  
His arms wrapped around her waist and pregnant belly suddenly, and   
she suppressed a gasp as he pulled her backwards, close to his own body.   
"As long as I live," he whispered into her ear. "You will never be alone."  
Tears rolled down her cheeks as she pulled her eyes tightly shut as   
she leaned into his hug. "I don't want them to die! I love them!"   
"I know you do..." he responded, laying a kiss right under her ear   
after speaking. "But I love you."  
She smiled in spite of herself. "I love you, too..." she sniffled,   
still staring out across the clouds.   
And the clouds showed no movement.  
************   
  
And sometimes, the future looks bleak...  
************  
  
"We're going to get out of this alive," breathed the Star Princess,  
lacing her fingers together with those of her prince as she stumbled   
backward. "Promise."  
The Scouts and Mistresses that remained stood within a giant ring of  
fire. The flames warmed their faces as the seven stood in their own tiny   
circle, backs pressed nearly together.   
And the Spirit was nowhere to be seen.   
Aurora Borealis furrowed her brown eyebrows, sighing as she stared   
at the wall before her. "We've got to do SOMETHING, you know," she   
observed in a pessimistic tone as she glanced at the others. "Any   
suggestions?"  
The dark-haired girl sighed. "I wish my mother were here..."  
"Well, she's NOT," snapped Saturn irritably, glancing at her weapon,  
which laid beyond the flames. "Find a different suggestion."  
With a sigh, Mercury closed her computer and allowed it to disappear  
into nothingness. "I can't find anything odd about it," she told them all   
in a rather soft voice. "It's just as it seems--a wall of fire."  
Neptune looked to her friend. "And?"  
The blue-garbed woman shrugged. "I can't do a thing about it," she   
admitted, shaking her head.   
They all groaned. Doom seemed immanent.  
Richard closed his eyes, trying to think of the good times. Like   
when he'd first met the blonde haired angel that he now knew as a   
girlfriend. Like their first kiss. Like the day Celeste had been delivered  
back to the Mistresses. Like his day of destiny.  
And an idea entered his mind.   
"Guys!" he yelped, pulling away from them to inch toward the wall's   
edge. "If we combine our powers and let Lyra attack, then..."  
The Princess sighed, smoothing her sweaty palms on her silver gown.   
"I'm a little tired, Rich," she told him softly with a shake of her head.   
"I don't think it'll work."  
"But we have to TRY!" pressed Aurora in a hopeful voice, her brown   
eyes teary. "Think of the others!"  
Saturn's pale hands flew toward the torn portion of her dress at her  
knees. The piece of purple velvet was beyond the fire wall, draped across   
the deformed legs of her younger sister. She shuddered. "I'm for it," she   
vowed softly, bringing her hands to her hips. "What do we have to lose?"  
The other two Mistresses glanced at one another. "I've never heard   
of such a suggestion before," admitted Mercury with a slight smile. "But   
I'm willing to try your way before watching us die." She smiled and   
touched one of Neptune's shoulders. "What do you say?"  
She nodded.   
Joining hands, the seven of them all closed their eyes and allowed   
their breathing to become uniform. The world seemed to stop as they all   
began to concentrate.  
"Mercury Power..."  
"Neptune Power..."  
"Saturn Power..."  
"Earth Power..."  
"Silver Star Power..."  
"Aurora Borealis Power..."  
The glow of the star on the Princess' forehead grew brighter as she   
opened her eyes quickly and thrust one hand into the air.   
"Starry Sky..."  
************  
  
But I know, I know... All you need is love.  
************  
  
"I can't let them win!"  
The gold intensified around her. She scrambled to her feet, trying   
to run as she floated through the air.   
You should go.  
"Exactly!" she shot indignantly. "I just said that!"  
The supernova is over.  
"No duh!" She pulled her blonde hair back into a severe bun as she   
spoke. "Anything else to say?"  
Good luck.  
Gripping the long staff, the Keeper of the Nebulae smiled. "Thank   
you," she responded humbly. "I may need it."  
No. You will need it.  
************  
  
And sometimes, you need some help...  
************  
  
"SMASH!"  
The fire disappeared suddenly in a flash of gold light, leaving the   
attack to hit the marble floor and do no harm.  
Gasping, Lyra furrowed her brow. "What was that?" she inquired,   
touching one finger to her star birthmark.   
"We should ask you the same question," responded Saturn coolly,   
strolling over to her Glaive and plucking it off the cold floor. "None of   
us know, either."  
Sailor Earth clutched her hands to her sides. "I feel something..."   
she breathed, shivering as her green eyes darted around the room.   
"Something powerful..."  
As she said this, a golden light erupted, bathing everyone in the   
glow. The eight prone bodies all began to float into the air suddenly, and  
the warriors all stumbled backward upon seeing this occur.  
"You can't do anything without my help, can you?" chuckled a merry   
voice. A staff appeared in the center of the room, the butt of it breaking  
into the marble and cracking through all seven points of the star. Next to  
the staff, a small blonde child materialized, her golden fuku sparkling in  
the light as she smiled at the group. "But, you lucked out once again."  
Princess Lyra gasped and took a cautionary step toward the young   
girl. "Celeste?" she choked, tears of joy flooding her light pecan eyes.   
"Is it you?"  
The girl smiled. "I have been called many things," she responded,   
bowing deeply, "but none is so dear to me as that name." She winked a   
green eye. "And it's great to be back with you guys."  
Light flowed from the golden star atop the staff and into the   
bodies. Each floating form was suddenly enveloped in their own colored   
light. Red, green, navy, orange, pink, crimson, a lighter orange, and   
purple flashed through the room as the girl folded her hands across her   
stomach. "I know how much they all mean to you, and I cannot let the   
Raiders win."  
The lights and the bodies disappeared and then, voices were heard.  
"Moon Power!"  
"Mars Power!"  
"Jupiter Power!"  
"Venus Power!"  
"Phoenix Power!"  
"Uranus Power!"  
"Comet Power!"  
"Chibi-Star Power!"  
And eight people appeared.  
************  
  
Other times, you fear yourself...  
************  
  
She took another swig of the coffee, with blue eyes watching the   
sky. Alone she stood upon the balcony, almost unable to move as she   
observed the lightning flashing across the sky.  
"Are you alright?" questioned a soft, sweet voice.  
Not needing to turn around, she shook her head of red hair. "I wish   
I was, Melvin," she told her husband, long fingernails picking at the   
paint on her mug. "I'm just worried."  
Walking out of the apartment, he wrapped an arm around her waist and  
hugged her to his side. "It'll be alright, Molly," Melvin assured her,   
pushing his glasses higher up his nose as he spoke. "The Prince and the   
Princess needed no help from us to find each other. Our deaths will mean   
nothing to them in the end and, in the end, the world will be safe."  
She laughed softly, leaning up against him and resting her head on   
his shoulder. "I'm not so worried about that," she responded casually, "as  
I am worried about our son."  
"Oh. Him." Melvin planted a kiss atop her head. "He's a big boy,   
Moll. He'll take care of himself." His eyes wandered toward the skyline,   
and he grimaced inwardly. "He has to."  
Squirming from his embrace, the woman began to pace back-and-forth   
across the tiny balcony, her eyebrows knotted together as she squeezed the  
cup. "I brought a child into this world," she told him, her voice   
wavering. "I brought the Prince of Stars into the world and I knew that   
he would have to fight and yet I let him be born and..." She shook her   
head. "And I dragged you into this, which I hate myself for..." Sticking   
her free hand into her back jeans pocket, the woman sighed and shook her   
head slowly. "Melvin, what I did is wrong. I dragged the man I loved into   
a nightmarish mess and my child became a warrior for love and justice   
instead of being a normal teenage boy."   
Melvin chuckled to himself, shaking his head as he watched his wife   
pace. "You did the one thing you could, love," he assured her softly.   
"All you have to do is hope."  
"And what if darkness endures?" she asked him pensively. "What do we  
do?"  
He didn't have an answer for that question.  
************  
  
Sometimes, you get renewed...  
************  
  
"Whoa. What a rush!" Neo-Sailor Moon blinked her large red eyes and   
glanced around the large chamber. "One minute, I'm flying through space,   
then I'm hanging from a cliff, and the next..." She smiled widely. "Well,   
what's up?"  
The Scouts all chuckled at their leader as she stood before them,   
hands upon her hips as she spoke. Standing behind her in ranks were the   
other once-dead Scouts and Mistresses, all very much alive and very happy   
to be so.  
Mistress Venus placed her hands upon Chibi-Star's shoulders. "I   
could have sworn..." she breathed, shaking her head a bit. "I remember   
clouds, and mists and..."  
The Keeper of the Nebulae stepped between the two groups of   
warriors, a slight smile upon her pale face as she brushed loose strand of  
golden hair from her eyes. "What is important is the future," she stated,   
timeless voice echoing through the marble room. She placed a hand on the   
staff. "Within minutes, the Spirit of Silver will return and we will be   
forced to kill or be killed."  
Sailor Comet grimaced. "Been there, done that," she announced in a   
dry tone, teal eyes examining her legs. "And I will never get near a   
motorcycle again!"  
Some of the group laughed, others choked back tears. The quiet was   
thick and pressuring as the two groups--the survivors and the renewed--  
stared at each other. No one moved.   
Then, Sailor Chibi-Star stepped forward, her sandals slapping the   
marble as she walked toward the Keeper of the Nebulae. "Are you me?" she   
asked of the other girl. "Or am I you?"  
"Neither," the Keeper responded, thumping the staff on the floor.   
"We are the same person, just different forms. And ever, we will be." She   
smiled sweetly when her counterpart cocked her head in confusion. "It's   
sort of like your sister being the Princess, only we can exist at the same  
time."  
"Oh." Chibi-Star smiled, pausing pensively. Then, a smile broke   
across her face. "You're a lot better at explaining that sort of stuff   
than my cat is."  
The Keeper laughed. "Take the staff," she commanded in her   
authoritative, mysterious tone. "Become me."  
There was a flash of bright gold light as the girl touched her hand   
to the pole, and it engulfed both the children. Then, as quickly as it   
came, it faded, and the Keeper of the Nebulae stood in the center of the   
room.  
She smiled. "Now I know how Lyra must feel," she mumbled to herself.  
This was too much for the Sailor Scouts and Mistresses. They all   
rushed forward, mother embracing daughter and sister holding sister.   
Neptune even dared to draw her wife into a passionate kiss, not caring who  
was looking on.  
"Renewal is a fickle thing," commented the child, looking up at the   
Starlit Prince with a half-smile as her elder sister cried into her   
mother's gown. "It brings us together and tears us apart at the same   
time."  
He chuckled and ruffled her hair. "But we're all alive and well,   
which is more than we were before."  
She shook her head quickly, knuckles growing white as she clutched   
the staff. "Don't you see?" she questioned the tall young man, green eyes   
watching as the Galactic Sailor of the Moon accepted a warm hug from   
Sailor Earth. "The worst is yet to come. We've not seen nothing yet."  
"That may be true," he agreed stoically, laughing to himself as   
Sailor Phoenix swept her auburn-haired friend into a tight hug, "but we've  
got to try."  
The Keeper of the Nebulae glanced at him with large green eyes and   
laughed, a rare occurrence indeed. "I never said that we would not, my   
Prince," she chortled, a smile tainting the adult features of her face. "I  
just said that they do not know what we are about to face."  
Leaning up against Uranus' chest, Mistress Neptune looked at the   
little girl and sighed. "What are we about to face?" she questioned of the  
Keeper. "What aren't you telling us?"  
The others all turned to the child as well, wanting to know the   
answer. Nothing seemed to move except the girl as she shrugged   
noncommittally and turned away from them all.  
"You will learn soon enough," came her response, voice emotionless.   
Lyra pulled away from her mother and took a few slow steps forward,   
brown eyes focused on the back of the gold-garbed child. Putting a hand on  
the child's shoulder, she smiled sadly. "Don't be afraid," she gently   
soothed the girl who was her sister. "There is nothing, now, to fear."  
The child just shook her head. "Princess, you do not know," she   
stated plainly. "Nor will you ever. The horrors that await are grim   
and..."  
"How sweet..." drawled a deep, loud voice from across the room, its   
timbre as frightening as ever. Fifteen warriors turned to face it. Fifteen  
warriors readied their chances. Fifteen warriors gasped.  
The Spirit of Silver just shook its head. "You may have defeated the  
body that I was housed within," it told the group in a rather bored tone,   
"but you will not defeat me."  
Reflexively pulling her sister toward her, the Princess of the   
Silver Star glared daggers at the creature. "What makes you so sure?" she   
inquired in a low hiss. "We could quite possibly beat you."  
With chuckle, the Spirit shrugged and floated back and forth across   
the room's width. "I left you alone for a few minutes, and you   
reincarnated all your friends," it scolded with a shake of what should   
have been its head. "I can't take my eyes off you all, can I?"  
Saturn raised a black eyebrow. "What is it talking about?" she   
asked, confused.  
"My one goal has been to take over the universe," it continued,   
ignoring the young Mistress' interruption. "That's the only thing that I   
had ever wanted. Thusly, the Raider race was created, by me, to fulfill   
that goal.  
"But the Raiders were stupid. And petty. They would not listen to   
their creator. No, they needed a King. A mighty King. So I created the   
King of the Raiders, giving him a will and personality all his own.  
"He wasn't very bright, and I constantly had to oversee the doings   
of both him and of his five weak minions. It was too much. So I took over   
his body."  
The black eyes glimmered as he glanced at the group of women and the  
one young man. "But you... You are all constantly getting in my way, and I  
have had well enough.  
"I tried to kill you off. Give you a nice, dignified death, without   
having to get involved. But this... This GIRL..." It glared at the   
littlest Scout, who slowly pulled herself away from her sister to pace   
closer to the great evil being. "This girl has ruined it all. And you will  
all die."  
It hovered close to the Keeper of the Nebulae, the foreboding and   
evil of its being frightening all the warriors sans the child.  
"Starting with her."  
A beam of black light erupted from the Spirit. The Keeper of the   
Nebulae swung her golden staff. White light engulfed them both.  
And time seemed to stop.  
************  
  
And sometimes, they feel it too...  
************  
  
Her tail licked the surface of the keyboard as she watched the tall   
monitor before her.  
Nothing.  
"This is ludicrous!" she screamed at no one in particular, hanging   
her head as her green eyes filled with tears. "They're all going to die,   
and we're sitting here and going against our first duty!"  
The pink cat shook her head at the fiery Star cat next to her. "What  
duty is that?" Diana inquired, a bit confused and also effected by worry   
as much as the others were.   
Her brother sighed. "Our first duty is to protect the Scouts," he   
breathed, voice hardly audible as he licked his chops and continued to   
look at the monitor. "That duty."  
Silence fell over the control room as the three cats glanced at one   
another nervously. Orion blinked back tears and held her head high. "But   
what can we do?" she asked suddenly, voice reflective. Her tone went   
against the words she had spat just moments before.   
"You can let us watch the control room," came a female's voice from   
behind them. All three turned to see Lisa standing in the doorway,   
cradling a half-asleep Ambriel in her arms. "I promised Reeny that I'd do   
something..."  
Diana's response was hesitant. "Would you?" she inquired softly.   
"Would you let us go?"  
The handmaiden smiled. "It's your job, isn't it?" she retorted   
sweetly. The cats nodded. "And, besides, I know that you three would do   
the same for me."  
"We would," agreed Orb helpfully, hopping off the panel of controls   
and gazing up at her with hopeful copper eyes. "Thank you, Lisa."  
"Thank you," responded the young woman, adjusting her hold on the   
two-year-old. "Not every person has helping cats as part of their   
destiny."  
As her two companions bolted out of the room, Orion hung behind for   
a long moment, her forest-colored eyes staring up at the young blonde   
woman and the little red-haired child. "Lisa, I..."  
"Go, Orion," urged the woman, smiling sadly. "You'll get left   
behind."  
"But..."  
The handmaiden winked.  
And Orion ran, becoming more a blur of calico fur than a cat.  
************  
  
But I know, I know, all you need is love...  
************  
  
The white light was blinding, and the warriors shielded their eyes.  
"What's going on?" questioned Sailor Moon as her pigtails began to   
drift toward the light. "It's like a..."  
"A vortex?" Sailor Phoenix opened one of her eyes just long enough   
to see the white light waver a little. She drew in a sharp, fearful   
breath. "That ain't no vortex," she breathed, shuddering a little. "But I   
wouldn't like to be part of it."  
The Space Sword flashed as Mistress Uranus drew it out of thin air.   
"Well, whatever it is, it's not going to be around for long!" She held the  
weapon over her head. "Space Sword..."  
"DON'T!" screamed a voice that they all recognized as Serenity's.   
Almost immediately, the light faded away and was sucked into a tiny   
glowing orb.  
The Silver Imperium Crystal.  
Out of a dark corner of the room stepped the Queen, the golden   
streams of hair from her twin buns flowing gently behind her. "Hello," she  
greeted them, a slight smile betraying the stern look on her face. "It's   
good to see that you are all well."  
"Very good indeed," came another voice from the other side of the   
room. All heads turned to glance at an exotic woman whose black and   
crimson Sailor fuku was far too tight around her belly. Sailor Pluto took   
one, then two slow steps forward to where the Spirit and the Keeper stood,  
confused. "I am glad that our Keeper found it necessary to save you all."  
Neptune glanced into her mirror idly before looking up at her f  
riend. "You mean to say that you knew what was happening?" she questioned   
of the Time Guardian.  
The woman nodded, leaning slightly on her key. "You have no idea how  
much I did know," she responded in a mysterious tone.   
There was a long, silent pause as the Scouts and Mistresses glanced   
at one another, the Spirit of Silver, the Queen of the Earth, the Keeper   
of the Nebulae, and the Prince and Princess of the Stars.  
Suddenly, there was an explosion. It seared through the room,   
knocking everyone in its wake over. The Spirit of Silver laughed as they   
all laid on the floor, stunned.  
"You thought that I was confused, didn't you?" it asked with a   
smirk. "Well, I wasn't." He neared the Keeper of the Nebulae where she lay  
prone. "And this girl will die."  
A long stream of his silvery mass reached out, nearing her slowly.   
Time seemed to stop...  
And a purple rose hit the Spirit right between the eyes.   
"Don't even," Richard shot, standing slowly and brushing his tuxedo   
off. "That child means more to us than you would know."  
The Spirit laughed and the rose fell to the ground. "It takes more   
than a little flower to stop me!" it roared arrogantly. "I find it hard to  
believe you thought it would distract me..."  
"Comet Crater CLOSE!"  
The floor suddenly opened up around the Spirit, swallowing its lower  
half. The silvery being howled in pain and pulled itself from the floor,   
black eyes darting about the room nervously. "Who did that?" it screamed,   
glaring at each Scout separately. "Who attacked me?"  
Only one girl was standing, and she bowed deeply toward the monster.  
"My name is Sailor Comet," she introduced herself with a smirk. "I am the   
Galactic Sailor Scout of the Comets."  
With a grunt of effort, the girl with the red-and-dark-orange fuku   
picked herself up. "And I am Sailor Phoenix," she groaned, clutching the   
wrist on which she had landed, "the Galactic Sailor of the Sun."  
It watched with horrified black eyes as, one-by-one, each of the   
Mistresses and Scouts pulled themselves off the floor.  
"Sailor Aurora Borealis, the Sailor of Light."  
"Mistress Uranus, the Mistress of the Sky."  
"Mistress Jupiter, the Mistress of Nature."  
"Sailor Earth, the Sailor of Earth."  
"Mistress Mars, the Mistress of Fire."  
"Mistress Saturn, the Mistress of Death."  
"Mistress Neptune, the Mistress of Sea."  
"Sailor Moon, the Sailor of the Moon."  
"Mistress Mercury, the Mistress of Water."  
"Sailor Pluto, the Guardian of Time."  
"Mistress Venus, the Mistress of Love."  
Slowly, the Queen of the Earth rose to her feet, offering a hand to   
the Princess of the Stars. The blonde girl, running a hand through her   
curls, smiled up at Serenity and the woman smiled back. No words were   
exchanged, and the room grew silent.  
The girl spoke. "Lyra Mokoti," she smiled slightly, bowing toward   
the Spirit as each and every one of her companions had. "The Sailor of the  
North Star and the Princess of the Stars."  
"And Mistress Moon," Serenity called out, a rather hoarse edge to   
her voice. "The Mistress of the Moon and Queen of the Earth."  
Gasping, the Spirit of Silver backed up a bit. Never before had he   
met the Queen, and this frightened him.  
The pink-haired Scout stepped forward and toward the Queen, and the   
two smiled at one another and adjusted their respective hairstyles.  
"Agents of love," continued Serenity, brushing a bit of lint off of   
her gown.  
"And justice," chimed in Sailor Moon.  
The other voices joined in.  
"We are the pretty Sailor-suited defenders of justice! On behalf of   
our universe, we will right wrongs and triumph over all evil!"  
Standing, the Keeper of the Nebulae let a slight smile cross her   
lips. She clutched her staff in one hand and leaned upon it, coughing as   
she went. There was a tear, though no one knew why, in her golden fuku,   
but she did stand and she did smile at the creature. "And that," she   
finished in a weak voice, "means you."  
With a half-hearted chuckle, the Spirit backed up a bit. "Come now,"  
he choked, coughing a bit. "You cannot expect me to fear ones such as   
you!"  
Lyra shook her head of blonde curls and stepped forward. "Not at   
all," she responded kindly and with a curt bow. "Why would one as powerful  
as you fear us?"   
"Exactly!" it agreed with a nodded. "So, let us stop this madness."  
The Mistresses all looked at one another and, wordlessly, smirked,   
standing in battle ready positions.   
"Mercury..."  
"Mars..."  
"Jupiter..."  
"Venus..."  
"World..."  
"Deep..."  
"Dead..."  
"Silence..."  
Backing up, the Spirit paled and grimaced slightly. "Why don't we   
talk about this?"  
Smiling knowingly at one another, the Mistresses all backed up and   
relaxed. They couldn't attack. They all knew that they couldn't. They   
could only defend. As was the way of the Mistresses.  
But it proved the fear of the evil being. And it proved that they   
had a chance.  
The Queen of the Earth stepped in front of them all, the Princess   
and Prince of the Stars hovering close behind her. "Let's talk," she   
suggested in her normal regal way. "What terms will you most easily   
accept?"  
"Death." The Spirit's tone was dark. "Your death and surrender."  
The couple froze, glancing nervously at one another. All the Scouts   
readied their attacks. Sailor Moon even drew the Galactic Rod from null-  
space.   
But the Queen remained calm. "Surely, you do not think we will agree  
to such a suggestion," she responded in a serene voice. "Can you be a bit   
more reasonable?"  
It laughed. "That is as reasonable as the Raider race gets," it told  
her flatly. "We do not give up so easily. It's all or nothing." The   
creature paused and glanced at her. The blonde hair and white gown where   
disheveled from the explosion, and her golden crown was crooked. Still,   
there was something very strong and beautiful about her, and the Spirit   
felt itself be suddenly distracted. Pulling back into reality, it cleared   
its throat. "Choose."  
With a deep breath, Serenity smiled sweetly. "Of all or none," she   
stated, "we choose none."  
A dark beam of energy soared from the Spirit of Silver's body,   
flying straight toward the Queen. Slightly behind it flew sixteen more   
beams, each locked onto one of the other warriors in the room.  
"Queen Serenity!" screamed Uranus, trying to step forward and   
protect the Queen. Only Neptune's hand on her lower arm held her back, and  
even that was with regret. The couple looked into one another's eyes and   
knew--just knew--that there was no hope in the situation.   
Time seemed to run more slowly as each of the Scouts and Mistresses   
took what they thought would be their last breaths. Lyra groped for   
Richard's hand and found it; the Keeper of the Nebulae hugged her mother's  
legs; the Inners hugged their daughters; Saturn took Sailor Moon's right   
hand and took her sister's left, squeezing them both; Sailor Pluto touched  
her pregnant belly. And seventeen pair of eyes closed as death attempted   
to claim them.  
A crackling sound, followed by sixteen other crackling sounds,   
echoed through the chamber, and everyone gasped.  
For they were surrounded by a sparkling white light.  
************  
  
I know, I know...  
************  
  
"Where's Mommy and Lyra and Celeste?" asked a little brunette boy,   
standing on his tiptoes to peek out the front window. The sky was dark and  
rain pelted down on the big white house on Venus Street. Johnny shivered   
and glanced up at his father with sparkling blue eyes. "Are they safe from  
the storm?"  
With a slight shrug, Andrew chewed pensively on his lower lip. "I   
don't know," he admitted with a sigh, eyes staring up at the black clouds.  
"I just hope so..."  
The tall man with shaggy auburn hair on the couch shifted positions,  
stirring his coffee gently. "I think we all hope so," he responded in a   
rather weak voice, green eyes turning sad at the mere thought of his   
family. "I can't bear to think of Raye and Tara up there..."  
"And Ames and Pheebs," commented Greg sadly, brown eyes glancing at   
Chad as he said this. "We all have a lot to loose in this..."  
"What is going on, anyway?" inquired Becky Mokoti, smoothing the   
blonde hair of her baby sister as she spoke. "Where is everyone?"  
Paul, the seven-year-old Mokoti boy, looked up from his coloring   
book. "Yeah, and why did Mrs. Umino call and ask if you'd 'heard any   
news'?"  
Three other children all began whining in unison, begging for any   
information that they could receive about the fate of their two sisters   
and their mother. The chaos that ensued lasted for almost a full minute   
before Andrew put up his hand to silence them.   
Taking a deep breath, he looked at the other two men, who both   
shrugged. "I suppose that the best I can say is that even we don't know."   
The children began to voice their protest. "However," he interrupted them,  
"they will most likely be back soon."  
Nodding, Chad smiled and ruffled the hair of little Sarah. "Don't   
you cherubs worry one bit," he told them, the severe look on his face   
betraying the chipper sweetness of his voice. "Everything will be just   
fine!"  
"As long as you pray," mumbled Greg under his breath, running a hand  
through his black hair. "Just pray."   
And a clap of thunder shook the house.  
************  
  
All you need is love...   
************  
  
The white light sparkled furiously, and all the warriors gasped.  
"What... What is it?" asked Mistress Saturn aloud, stepping slowly   
forward and extending her hand. It passed through the glow, unharmed. She   
smiled slightly. "It's beautiful."  
"This..." The Spirit grimaced and made a face. "This can't be!" he   
roared. More black energy flew toward the great light wall, but all it did  
was create another large crackling sound.  
The Princess of the Stars blinked her brown eyes, smoothing her   
silver dress as she stepped forward. She raised a single blonde eyebrow.   
"I recognize this energy," she whispered, touching the wall with obvious   
caution. "It's very odd..."  
"You're right it's odd!" hissed an urgent voice as two flashes of   
gold and a flash of silver ignited at their feet. "It's odd because we've   
never done something like this before!"  
There stood the three Guardian cats, their birthmarks glowing and   
emitting white beams of light as they stood. These beams flowed, albeit   
slowly, into the wall, creating the force field. Everyone gasped and   
stared, open-mouthed, at the spectacle before them.   
The calico glared daggers at the group. "Stop looking at me like   
I'm a ghost!" she commanded loudly, making a face.  
"Good old Orion," mumbled the Princess under her breath, smiling   
weakly.  
Outside their protective barrier, the Spirit roared and threw more   
energy at them.  
The Queen turned to the Mistresses and Scouts. "We must join hands!"  
she announced. "Only then can this evil being be destroyed!"  
As the group joined hands slowly, the blonde woman knelt down on the  
dirty black marble and glanced at the cats. "When the Silver Crystal   
starts to glow," she told them, "let the guard down."  
Diana raised her eyebrows. "Are you sure, majesty?"  
Serenity nodded and rose, taking her place between Sailors Pluto and  
Moon. "Ready?"  
The Imperium Silver Crystal appeared in the circle's center.   
Outside, the crackling of energy against the wall filled the chamber, as   
did the frustrated screams of the Spirit.   
Drawing in a deep breath, the Queen of the Earth closed her eyes.   
"Moon Power..."  
"Neo-Moon Power..."  
"Mercury Power..."  
"Phoenix Power..."  
"Mars Power..."  
"Earth Power..."  
"Jupiter Power..."  
"Aurora Borealis Power..."  
"Venus Power..."  
"Nebulae Power..."  
"Uranus Power..."  
"Comet Power..."  
"Neptune Power..."  
"Saturn Power..."  
"Pluto Power..."  
There was a brief pause as it came to be time for the Prince and   
Princess to speak. Time seemed to stop as Richard smiled to himself and   
squeezed the short blonde's hand. She, in turn, smiled as well.  
And two voices united as one.  
"Silver Star Power!"  
Light flowed into the Silver Crystal, and it began to glow. The   
three cats, from both fatigue and worry, collapsed and the beautiful wall   
of white energy disappeared into nothingness as they did. From the Silver   
Crystal flowed an invisible but extremely strong energy, headed straight   
toward the Spirit of Silver.  
"You cannot do this!" it yelled, tossing beams of black energy   
toward the power he could not see. "I've worked too hard to lose to a   
bunch of teenagers and their mothers! NO!"  
And his screams echoed through the chamber as everything went black.  
But not before two gems--one crimson and one silver--shattered into   
nothingness.  
************  
  
All you need is...  
************  
  
The dark clouds broke apart, and everything was restored to its   
former glory and beauty.  
Seventeen people stood prone, that day, looking out over Tokyo Bay   
with private, understanding smiles upon their faces. A shorter aqua haired  
woman rested contentedly in the arms of a tall blonde. A teenage girl in   
a silver gown had one had clutched within that of a young man. And a six-  
year-old in all gold was cradled, asleep, in her mother's arms.  
"So... This is it..." Sailor Moon smoothed the blue skirt of her   
fuku while sighing. "It's almost depressing..."  
Sailor Pluto put an arm around the teen's shoulders. "It is,   
really," she smiled. "But, Small Lady, you must grow to understand..."  
The teen made a face. "Small Lady? I thought I grew out of that!"  
A few individuals of the group laughed at the joke, but it was a   
choked, nervous laugh. Because they all understood.  
"But... Destiny like ours can't just END, can it?" questioned Sailor  
Comet nervously, teal eyes staring at the Queen of the Earth.   
Serenity smiled one of her private, mysterious smiles. "Just because  
you've beat one evil," she responded, "doesn't mean you've beat them all."  
"Soooo..." The blue-haired Sailor Scout raised an eyebrow. "What   
you're saying is that there's more to come?"  
The Queen shrugged and glanced over at the pregnant woman, who just   
shook her head.  
"I can't look into my own future," she divulged in a serious tone.   
"And your future is my future..." She patted her belly and brushed her   
green hair from her face. "OUR future..."  
The raven-haired teen looked to her mother for a brief moment before  
smiling sadly and watching the first wisps of sunlight flow over the   
water. "It's never really over, is it?" she asked in an amazed tone. "No   
matter how long we live, or what horrors we face, we'll always be the   
Galactic Sailors."  
"That you will," agreed the blonde Queen, smoothing her gown. "That   
you will."  
The group slowly broke up to go home, or to work, or to just take a   
walk. Soon, only two forms, slightly shadowed, stood on the pier.   
"Lyra... I..." Richard smiled gently at the short girl, whose brown   
eyes were fixed on the tiny streams of sunlight that flowed over the water.   
She turned to glance at him, cocking her head to one side. "What,   
Rich?" she questioned sweetly, smiling as she spoke. "Is something wrong?"  
He shook his head. She had the most unbelievable power over him--the  
power to render him absolutely speechless. "I've never met anyone like you  
before, and..." He gulped. This was hard. "Lyra, I love you."  
With a gasp, she threw herself into his arms. "I love you too!" she   
announced, and he could hear that she was sobbing into his tuxedo shirt.   
"Never before have I loved someone as much as much as I love you..."  
He bent down just a bit, taking her chin in his hands. "And I always  
will..." he whispered, drawing his lips to hers.  
************  
  
And day... Day broke over the galaxy.  
************  
  
Galactic Sailors Say!  
  
(All the Scouts, in civilian form, enter, dragging a bound-and-gagged   
Richard behind them by his tuxedo jacket)  
  
Lyra: (innocently) I suppose you're wondering what's going on here.  
  
Haley: (with a smile) Truth is, we don't even know.  
  
Alice: It's really strange to think that we're almost done with first   
season. It's really scary.  
  
Celeste: We've been through a lot together, guys...  
  
(Video clips of the Scouts fighting, Lyra glancing at the picture of the   
group at the ball and gala, the sleepover at Haley's, the first battle,   
the time Lyra and Chibi-Star killed Greed... Take your pick of what mental  
pictures you would like.)  
  
Tara: But what're important isn't the memories so much as it is what we   
mean to one another.  
  
(Richard starts to struggle, and Lyra leans down to listen to what he's   
trying to say.)  
  
Lyra: (planting a kiss on his forehead) I love you too, sweetie.  
  
Phoebe: (smiling) We, however, are not going to give up. We're the Sailor   
Scouts! We can't give up!  
  
Alice: No matter what happens.  
  
Haley: (hesitantly) Uh, guys? We're missing our moralistic message of the   
day...  
  
Celeste: We are, aren't we?  
  
(They huddle, Richard kicking and grunting in effort to be free of his   
bonds. Tara kicks him, and he shuts up. They come out of the huddle,   
smiling.)  
  
Reeny: Chocolate isn't good for dogs.  
  
(Pause.)  
  
Lyra: Now, to the mall!  
  
(Dragging Richard behind them, the Scouts all march off screen.)  
  
Ambriel: (appearing) Angel Moon says...  
  
Various Voices: SEE YA!  
  
-I Know-  
Look around...  
(Tara, sitting next to Queen Serenity, stares up at the night sky)  
So many things aren't clear...  
(Phoebe looks blankly at a math book)  
Don't worry, though...  
(Lyra smiles while picking up her tuba)  
You know that I'll be there...  
(Sailor Pluto and Haley smile knowingly at each other)  
A lot of things are so uncertain...  
(Alice looks sadly at a clock while the sun sets over Crystal Tokyo)  
The future's on its way...  
(Reeny holds the Locket of the Moon, smiling)  
Look at my crying eyes...  
(Luna and Artemis console an upset Diana)  
Don't take your love away!  
(Hannah sighs, looking at a sleeping Haley)  
  
Sometimes, the road looks long...  
(Mina looks at her children with Andrew behind her)  
And sometimes, the world seems wrong...  
(Alex and Michelle smile at one another and then blush deeply)  
But I know, I know, all you need is love.  
(The six girls, untransformed, hold their lockets high)  
  
Sometimes, you feel weak...  
(Lita smoothes the hair of a crying Alice)  
And sometimes, the future looks bleak...  
(Raye and Chad stand behind Tara, who is staring at her locket)  
But I know, I know, all you need is love.  
(The six Galactic Sailors stand in a half circle)  
  
Times will change...  
(Amy looks out of a window and at Crystal Palace)  
People will change, too...  
(Endymion looks at Serenity, who is pouring over a book)  
But deep inside...  
(Lyra hugs Celeste)  
I always will love you...  
(Diana falls asleep on Reeny's lap)  
I suppose there are questions now...  
(Alice and Phoebe stare blankly at one another)  
The answers are so far...  
(Michelle stands in front of the orchestra, talking)  
But look at me and smile now...  
(Tara lovingly hugs her father)  
I am your guiding star!  
(Haley smiles at a studying Hannah)  
  
Sometimes, the road looks long...  
(Mina looks at her children with Andrew behind her)  
And sometimes, the world seems wrong...  
(Alex and Michelle smile at one another and then blush deeply)  
But I know, I know, all you need is love.  
(The six girls, untransformed, hold their lockets high)  
  
Sometimes, you feel weak...  
(Lita smoothes the hair of a crying Alice)  
And sometimes, the future looks bleak...  
(Raye and Chad stand behind Tara, who is staring at her locket)  
But I know, I know, all you need is love.  
(The six Galactic Sailors stand in a half circle)  
  
I know...  
(The Planet Mistresses stand in a circle)  
I know...  
(The Galactic Sailors stand in a circle)  
All you need is love...  
(The Mistresses and Sailors all stand together, holding hands, with their   
eyes closed)  
All you need...is...love...  
(A single purple rose sits in a vase)  
  
************  
  
Did you like it? Ready yourself for story 14--"Day Breaks Over the   
Galaxy"--and we'll see you later!  
  
--KB--  



	14. Day Breaks Over the Galaxy

Day Breaks Over the Galaxy  
  
Author's Ramblings: This would be it. The last "official" first season   
episode of Galactic Sailors. I will soon bring to haunt you a lovely   
songfic, but first...  
The frivolous "dedications" section:  
To Christina and Ginnie.   
To Andrea.   
To Brian.   
To Beth and Angela.   
To Misty.   
To Ruka/Shifter.   
To Rob.  
To Lacey.   
To Mom and Dad.  
To Kerry and Kyle.   
To all those who have read this far--and to all those who will continue   
to read.  
To The Independent Staff.   
To all my teachers.   
To friendship.  
To life.   
To love that transcends death.   
To voyages to places I've not yet been.  
To hope, peace, and stories that live on forever--beyond my mind, beyond   
my fingers, beyond my wildest dreams.  
And to me.  
  
--KB--  
************  
Last time, on Galactic Sailors:  
  
The dark clouds broke apart, and everything was restored to its   
former glory and beauty.  
Seventeen people stood prone, that day, looking out over Tokyo Bay   
with private, understanding smiles upon their faces. A shorter aqua haired  
woman rested contentedly in the arms of a tall blonde. A teenage girl in a  
silver gown had one had clutched within that of a young man. And a six-  
year-old in all gold was cradled, asleep, in her mother's arms.  
"So... This is it..." Sailor Moon smoothed the blue skirt of her   
fuku while sighing. "It's almost depressing..."  
Sailor Pluto put an arm around the teen's shoulders. "It is,   
really," she smiled. "But, Small Lady, you must grow to understand..."  
The teen made a face. "Small Lady? I thought I grew out of that!"  
A few individuals of the group laughed at the joke, but it was a   
choked, nervous laugh. Because they all understood.  
"But... Destiny like ours can't just END, can it?" questioned Sailor  
Comet nervously, teal eyes staring at the Queen of the Earth.   
Serenity smiled one of her private, mysterious smiles. "Just because  
you've beat one evil," she responded, "doesn't mean you've beat them all."  
"Soooo..." The blue-haired Sailor Scout raised an eyebrow. "What   
you're saying is that there's more to come?"  
The Queen shrugged and glanced over at the pregnant woman, who just   
shook her head.  
"I can't look into my own future," she divulged in a serious tone.   
"And your future is my future..." She patted her belly and brushed her   
green hair from her face. "OUR future..."  
The raven-haired teen looked to her mother for a brief moment before  
smiling sadly and watching the first wisps of sunlight flow over the   
water. "It's never really over, is it?" she asked in an amazed tone. "No   
matter how long we live, or what horrors we face, we'll always be the   
Galactic Sailors."  
"That you will," agreed the blonde Queen, smoothing her gown. "That   
you will."  
The group slowly broke up to go home, or to work, or to just take a   
walk. Soon, only two forms, slightly shadowed, stood on the pier.   
"Lyra... I..." Richard smiled gently at the short girl, whose brown   
eyes were fixed on the tiny streams of sunlight that flowed over the   
water.   
She turned to glance at him, cocking her head to one side. "What,   
Rich?" she questioned sweetly, smiling as she spoke. "Is something wrong?"  
He shook his head. She had the most unbelievable power over him--the  
power to render him absolutely speechless. "I've never met anyone like   
you before, and..." He gulped. This was hard. "Lyra, I love you."  
With a gasp, she threw herself into his arms. "I love you too!" she   
announced, and he could hear that she was sobbing into his tuxedo shirt.   
"Never before have I loved someone as much as much as I love you..."  
He bent down just a bit, taking her chin in his hands. "And I always  
will..." he whispered, drawing his lips to hers.  
************  
  
And day... Day broke over the galaxy.  
************  
  
And this, my friends, is where the story lives on...  
************  
  
The room was dark, lit only by a small glass lamp in one corner.   
Nothing seemed to move as the young man paced across its length, his   
grief outweighing his logic.  
"Sit down, already," commanded a rather hoarse voice from the bed,   
a pair of bloodshot eyes narrowing. "You worry too much..."  
The young man snorted and turned to the blonde angel. She was seated  
in the large, high-backed desk chair, idly stroking the soft fur of a   
scrappy calico cat. Her brown eyes did not look up from the animal in her   
lap but he knew--intuitively, perhaps--that she was crying. She had been   
for quite a while, obviously. Still, he glanced at her and snorted once   
again. "Don't you think I have bearing to be worried?"  
She nodded weakly, still patting the cat.   
He furrowed his red eyebrows. "Are you alright?" he questioned her   
softly, worry betraying the stern look on his face.  
Coughing, a soft smile crossed the lips of the woman in the double   
bed. Slowly she sat up, and slowly she glanced at her son. "If you are   
going to be worried about one of us, then worry," she demanded, voice   
still weak but definitely playful. "If you are going to choose, then   
choose."  
"What is going on here?" questioned the girl, brown eyes looking at   
the woman with concern. "I don't understand it..."  
"Once again, the mistakes of my past plague me," the cat softly   
said, sitting up on the teen's lap and gazing at the young redheaded man   
with a small, timid smile upon her face. "I screwed up..."   
He shook his head and turned to face the doorway, glancing at the   
man who sat in the living room. "It's not your fault, Orion," he responded  
in a stoic voice, hiding the tears that were about to fall as he watched   
his father turn a page in his book. "It's really no one's fault..."  
Molly sighed and laid slowly back down, blue eyes smiling even as   
her mouth did not. "It's my fault," she admitted boldly. "I knew that this  
would happen, and I let it happen..."  
"Which is what?" Lyra stood, knocking the cat to the ground as she   
began to pace, her sock-covered feet thumping as she clenched her fists   
and walked back and forth across the room's length. "I don't get it!"  
Richard sighed, still refusing to look at the trio inside the room.   
"My mother is dying," he stated in a shaky voice. "Because she is neither   
a Planet Mistress or the soul-mate of one, she cannot live forever..." His  
voice caught, and he clenched his eyes shut as tightly as he could. "The   
rule was that, once we found each other, then she and my father would   
die..."  
Chuckling to herself, Molly settled under the sheets, watching in   
sick amusement as the Princess of the Stars stared blankly at her Prince.   
"Come here," she requested in a serene tone of the young couple. Richard   
wiped his eyes and obeyed, Lyra following in his footsteps. Hanging back a  
bit was the calico guardian of the Silver Star, her green eyes worried as   
she watched the almost sobbing young man kneel at his mother's bedside.   
But the older woman smiled and beckoning to the cat. "You too, Orion."  
The little animal jumped onto the bed's edge, gulping. "I guess that  
I still have to obey you, Majesty," she choked nervously. "Silver   
Millennium or not."  
Molly smiled weakly and gripped her son's hand tightly in hers.   
"Your father and I... Well, we made a promise long ago," she told the   
group, her tone timeless. "We promised to unite the Prince and the   
Princess of the Stars at all costs, no matter what." Her blue eyes gazed   
at the young couple, a bit teary as she smiled and them and squeezed her   
son's hand tighter. "And YOU did that. Not Melvin, nor I... You two did   
that." She smiled at the calico. "Maybe with a slight bit of help..."  
A weak sob cut her off. "Mom..." Richard's blue eyes filled quickly   
with tears, and he wiped them away just as quickly.   
She shook her head. "But, as with everything, we all change,   
grow..." She sighed. "And we die, Richard. We die.  
"I learned, long ago, to never fear death. Death was going to   
happen as soon as I got my son--the Prince--together with his Princess."   
She paused, winking at Lyra. "And I've done just that.  
"Take good care off each other, you two. More trouble will someday   
come. More lives will, someday, be put on the line. You have got to be   
careful and hold your heads high, putting yourself first and the ones you  
love second."  
Pausing then, she sighed and chewed on her lower lip, staring up at   
the white ceiling as she took a few labored breaths. "I gave you life,   
Rich," she told her son with a weak smile. "And through my powers, I gave   
your father more time to live on this planet than any average person would  
ever have." Nodding slightly, she blinked away her tears and glanced at   
her son. "I have no regrets. I've done everything I ever want to do..."  
"But, Majesty!" protested Orion loudly, standing staring into the   
blue eyes of the woman. "You cannot die! You are one of the few surviving   
members of the Silver Star!"  
Molly shook her head. "How easily you forget, Orion," she smiled,   
voice becoming thin. "I am not God; I just have connections."  
And she closed her eyes, and she let out her last breath.  
And, that day, the second of the two rulers of the Silver Star   
passed onto a better place.  
Richard drew in one, then two sharp breaths, staring at the prone   
form of his mother with tear-filled eyes. Nothing moved, in his mind, as   
he gazed at her, his entire body shaking in grief.  
Then, in a flash of silver light, the body was gone, leaving only a   
single golden wedding ring--the symbol of her bond to her husband--behind   
on the Earth. Richard felt his heart burst inside his chest, and he began   
to feel himself fall into the depths of fear and depression.  
Only the touch of a warm arm around his waist brought him back to   
reality. "Shhh... Richard..." soothed his girlfriend softly, rubbing his   
back. "Come here..."  
He collapsed into her waiting, open arms, sobbing.  
Rising and hopping off the bed, Orion sighed. They'd be alright. All  
wounds would heal.   
Walking out into the living room, she cocked her head to one side.   
She could have sworn...  
Her glowing green eyes trailed to the very seat that Melvin Umino,   
the father of her prince, had been sitting in. Where had he gone?  
She gasped as the sunlight sparkled off something gold.  
All that was left of the happy-go-lucky brown-haired genius was a   
wedding ring.  
************  
  
"I wonder what they want us here for," pondered the girl with the   
wavy brown hair aloud, wrinkling her nose as she wandered around the room.  
Irina grimaced in her direction. "Don't touch anything!" she hissed   
as Johanna neared a large table filled with family snapshots.   
The brunette laughed. "You worry too much!" she retorted casually,   
plucking a picture of Michelle and Alex off the table. She smiled at it.   
"Hmm...this one looks old..."  
Kevin brushed off his orange shirt and leaned back into the chair.   
"July 15, 1997," he quoted, blue eyes glancing at the photo for only a   
brief moment. "The legendary 'last concert' that Michelle Kaioh performed   
in before retiring to a more posh life as a violin teacher..." The others   
stared at him, aghast, and he cleared his throat nervously. "Or, at least   
that's what I've heard," he recovered quickly, blushing.  
The blonde girl chuckled. "Well," smiled Katie, crossing her legs   
and glancing up from her graphing calculator, "I would never guessed you   
to be a fan of Michelle's music..."  
He continued to pale.  
Tossing a bit of her black hair over her shoulders, Irina smiled   
evilly and leaned forward in her chair, staring directly at the young man   
with her dark eyes. "Unless, of course," she suggested in a tone of mock   
innocence, "that's not exactly what he's a fan of..."  
With a gulp, Kevin turned bright red.  
"Aw, leave him alone," commanded Johanna, still searching through   
the pictures. "I think that it's really cute and, anyway..." She trailed   
off, whistling a low note as her eyebrows flew into the air. "Oh my   
god..." she whispered, chewing on her lower lip.  
The others all glanced at her. "What?"  
She plucked another photo off the table and held it before the eyes   
of her friends. "Who does THAT look like?" Her finger pointed directly at   
one of the girls in the picture.  
In the photo were six girls, each of varying heights and hair   
colors. There was a tall brunette, a short blonde with a huge red bow, a   
young pink-haired child, a rather smart-looking girl with blue hair and   
huge navy eyes, a raven-haired teen in Shinto priestess robes, and...  
"The Queen?" choked Katie, not noticing as her calculator fell to   
the floor and the batteries popped out. "It CAN'T be!"  
The concertmistress glanced at the photo in doubt. It was old...   
Older than the other, most likely. The last girl was rather short, with   
long blonde pigtails that sparkled in the sun and big, smiling blue eyes   
that had a uniquely royal quality. It HAD to be...  
"Enjoying yourselves?" came a deep, amused voice, and four heads   
turned to the doorway. Alex tossed her head a bit and strolled up to the   
oak desk of the office, Michelle following closely behind. The students   
rose quickly and bowed in respect, but there was a spark in their eyes   
that told a story of mutual trust and--perhaps--friendship between   
teachers and students.   
Katie grinned. "Good afternoon, Mrs. and Mrs. Ten'ou," she greeted,   
winking a blue eye.  
The couple glanced at one another nervously.  
Irina laughed aloud and sunk into one of the four chairs that had   
been set out for the day. "Don't worry," she chortled, waving a hand as   
she saw the apprehensive looks on both their faces. "We'd never call you   
that in front of the orchestra..."  
Michelle blinked in surprise, her mouth forming a perfect 'o'.   
"How'd you know what we were thinking?"  
"Your minds are pretty easy to read," responded Johanna with a shrug  
as she put the picture back. "You guys are too obvious, sometimes."  
Kevin nodded furiously. "Yeah!" he chimed in helpfully. "Didn't you   
ever wonder how we figured out you two were gay?"  
"KEVIN!" scolded the three girls in unison, blushing a bit on their   
friend's behalf.   
Flushing a little, Michelle cleared her throat and sat on the edge   
of the desk, smoothing the fabric of her rose-print sundress. "Let's make   
this easy on all of us," she suggested, crossing her legs and folding her   
arms under her chest. "It's like this..."  
Suddenly, the blonde boy dropped to his knees in tears, folding his   
hands together as he did so. "I didn't MEAN to break the timpani!" he   
announced, not daring to glance up at the two teachers. "It was an   
accident! I swear it!"  
With a snort, Alexandra smiled widely. "I told you it was him," she   
told her wife, planting a kiss in Michelle's hair.   
She pushed her partner away and shook her head in annoyance, gazing   
down at the pleading boy. "Oh, get up," she sighed, rolling her blue eyes.  
"That's not what I wanted."   
He opened a single eye. "It's not?" he asked timidly. Seeing her   
shake her head, he sprung back into his seat as though nothing had   
happened.   
Irina let out a chuckle and leaned back in her chair, pressing the   
tips of her fingers slyly. "So, Mrs. and Mrs., what did you want to talk   
to us about?"  
Grimacing at the nickname that her four favorite students--UNOFFICAL  
favorite students--had thought up for the two of them, the principal of   
Crystal Music Academy smiled sweetly. "We have two daughters," she told   
them as though it were earth-shattering news, "one of which is twenty..."  
"Of thousands years old," put in the blonde woman softly, receiving   
a stern glare from the musician. "But, for the sake of argument, she's   
twenty."  
Johanna nodded, wavy hair flying. "So, this has to do with the   
Sailor Senshi thing?" she asked, a bit of confusion in her voice. The   
adults stared blankly at her, and she put up her hands. "What?"   
With a sigh, Katie cleared her throat. "What do you need that only   
we could bail you out of?" she asked rather bluntly, raising a blonde   
eyebrow. "We do have classes to attend..."  
The young man made a face. "Can't we PLEASE incorporate my orange   
shirt into the uniform?" he pleaded, batting his eyelashes.   
Michelle held back a chuckle and folded her hands. "Hannah is around  
twenty," she continued in a rather amused tone, "and, often when girls get  
that age..."  
"We'll play at her wedding," Irina nodded, standing and smoothing   
the aqua fabric of her school uniform. "Anything else?"  
The couple was aghast. "How... What..."  
"I told you," Johanna reminded them sweetly, winking a brown eye.   
"We can read you two like a book!"  
The blonde teen nodded. "You ARE, after all," she chimed in, "our   
Mrs. and Mrs. Ten'ou."  
They were about to prance out the door and to class until Kevin,   
face reflective, turned back to gaze at the duo, who were still both   
perched on the desk's edge. With a slight smile, he sighed. "You're   
lucky," he told them sweetly.  
Alex took her wife's hand. "We know..." she responded, sending a   
meaningful green-eyed glance toward the other woman.  
He chuckled. "I don't mean THAT," he told them in an amused voice.   
"I mean you're lucky because we each only charge seven dollars an hour."  
As he jetted out of the office, Alex glanced at her companion.   
"So..." she sighed, nodding her head a bit.  
Michelle sighed in turn. "I don't believe that Hannah's getting   
married, either," she responded, leaning her head on the blonde's   
shoulder.  
"What I meant, Michi," interjected the tall one with a half-smile,   
"is that I can't believe we're going to have enough money to PAY for all   
of this."  
The aqua-haired woman laughed a little before shaking her head   
sadly.  
************  
  
"Countdown to doom, death, and destruction," whispered the teen   
ominously, tiptoeing softly toward the door as she spoke. Her dress' hem   
swished above the carpeting as she walked, expertly avoiding the   
floorboards that she knew to be squeaky. She had a few seconds, and only   
feet to go. She smiled. "In five...four...three..." She peeked her head   
around the doorframe cautiously, her grin growing as she became aware that  
the coast was clear. "Two..." Sliding around the corner and out of the   
room, she exhaled and shrugged. "One!" she announced softly but   
triumphantly, starting down the marble hall of Crystal Palace at a normal   
place. "I've finally..."  
"REENY!" screeched a familiar accented voice, and the Princess of   
the Earth froze in her tracks. About ten feet in front of her was the one   
thing she'd least wanted to see in all of the world.  
Luna.  
"Well, Lune, it's really simple," she chuckled, rubbing the back of   
her neck as she glanced idly at the ground. Digging her white shoes into   
the carpet, she stole a guilty look at the guardian. She was toast.   
"I'm listening," the cat responded coolly, raising a black eyebrow.   
"Explain why you were out of your classroom while your tutor went to the   
bathroom."  
The teen shrugged and adjusted her skirts. "Well, you see, I..."   
She chewed on her lower lip. "I needed a drink?"  
"No."  
"Ambriel's in trouble?"  
"I don't think so."  
"Locket alert?"  
"And I'm Queen Serenity, perhaps."  
This exchange continued for a few minutes when, letting her head   
hang at about chest level in defeat, the pink-haired teen started slowly   
back toward her 'classroom', which was really just one of the Palace's   
many libraries. "I don't see how this is fair," she grumbled to herself   
with a loud sigh. "I have a dress fitting and I can't go and..."  
"What's that?" called the cat after her, voice stern and grouchy.  
Reeny grunted in annoyance. "I'm supposed to get my new dress   
fitted," she announced loudly, more to create a large amount of noise than  
to answer the question from the crabby cat, "because I have to stand up   
in Hannah's wedding next week..."  
Luna sighed, shaking her head as she began to turn around. Her   
orange eyes focused on the hallway for a brief moment before she took a   
deep breath and glanced over her shoulder at the girl. Nothing, right now,  
meant more to the Princess than her friends. There was no more evil, no   
more death... Just the happiness of six girls who were able to be friends   
instead of warriors for the first time... It had been about seven months   
since that first Meeting of the Mistresses when the six girls had all met.  
And soon, the galaxy would once again realize how safe it had become...  
"I'll tell your teacher there was an emergency," grumbled the animal  
as she strolled down the hall in the opposite direction. "Just don't   
expect me to continue being so damn soft..."  
With a squeal and a smile, Reeny took off after the cat in a blind   
rush. "Thank you, Luna!" she squeaked as she ran past the black Guardian   
and toward the hall's end.  
The cat smiled. "Well," she whispered to herself in a slightly sad   
voice, "you deserve it."  
************  
  
"Hold still!"  
"I am, Miss Kino! I really, really am! But it tickles!" The child   
giggled.  
"I don't care if it tickles, you need to hold... OW! Damn it, those   
pins are sharp!"  
A congregation of thirteen people were gathered in the rather   
cramped basement of the Ten'ou household, all trying to conduct proper   
pre-wedding business. In one corner of the room were Haley and a boy her   
own age with gold-brown hair, discussing the pertinence of contemporary   
history to everyday life. Nearby stood a rather bored-looking Terrence,   
and in front of him, whistling merrily while pacing, was a very chipper   
Earth Princess. Seated on the large couch were Michelle, Brian's mother,   
and Brian's father; Alex sat on the edge of the coffee table with both   
partners of the young couple on the floor near said table. Susan was   
stretched out on the couch, wiggling her toes and complaining about not   
being able to see them; and--ever the diligent seamstress--Lita Kino was   
measuring and fitting little Celeste Mokoti for her pale yellow flower   
girl dress.  
Delia Hartford--a golden-haired, slim woman who was obviously   
Brian's mother--beamed proudly as she listened to the sounds of the   
preparations echo through the room. "It was so nice of you Tenors to   
invite us over," she grinned, nodding politely at both Alex and Michelle.   
"Ten'ous," corrected the blonde woman, pursing her lips in   
annoyance.   
Brian's father, a broad-shouldered, massive, rather over-powering   
individual with messy gray hair and piercing brown eyes, glanced   
menacingly at the tall, slender woman perched on the coffee table. "That's  
what my wife said," he growled in a low tone, eyes narrowing dangerously.   
"Are you saying..."  
"Dad..." warned Brian, nearly rising to his feet as he spoke. He   
pushed his glasses up on his nose, glaring at his father. They were a   
mismatched pair, father and son, but the older man seemed to relax   
noticeably as his child spoke.  
The air was tense. Very tense. The aqua-haired musician licked her   
lips very nervously and rose slowly. "Would you like some tea?" she   
offered politely to the Hartfords.  
Mr. Hartford grimaced. "No thanks," he responded in his gruff   
timbre. "I don't like..."  
"Frank..." Delia shot him a 'look' before she stood and smoothed the  
fabric of her blue dress. "We'd LOVE some, Frank."  
He grunted and followed his blonde wife up the stairs as she and the  
musician began to chatter about the wedding.   
Alexandra laughed aloud as they left, receiving two wary looks from   
the young couple. She shook her head at them. "Kids, they're just nervous   
as Hell," she assured the young duo happily, straightening her tie as she   
rose. "Don't worry about them, because they'll be fine..."  
"We have no proof of that," mumbled Brian under his breath,   
collapsing onto his back as he spoke. "My parents are nightmarish   
hellions, aren't they?"  
"I...I never said that!" shot Hannah defensively, crossing her arms.  
Her mother glared accusingly in her direction. "You said they were   
'nice'," she retorted.  
The younger woman paled a little. "Well... Uhh... I've never been   
good at phrasing things..." She blushed and gave up.  
"Listen, kids... It's like this." Alexandra sat back down for a   
minute and shot a meaningful glance at both the shorter blonde man and her  
elder daughter. "The Hartfords don't understand. They don't understand the  
way we Ten'ous--and Tomoes--and Meious--work. But, they'll learn." She   
shrugged and once again got up. "Being the mother...erm, father...of the   
bride is hard for me." Pausing, she let her intense green-eyed gaze wander  
in the direction of the little blonde girl in the yellow, half-finished   
gown. "But I think that I understand. They just don't yet..." She shrugged  
once more and retreated up the stairs.  
Sitting back up, Brian shook his head and rose to the couch. "I   
still don't get it," he sighed, remorse in his voice. "There's nothing   
wrong with you and your family, and it shouldn't drive my parents to be   
ravenous vipers..."  
"I'll tell you what IS wrong," Susan interjected, rubbing her huge   
belly as she struggled to move into a normal sitting position. "It's the   
fact that my ankles are swollen, my back is killing me beyond belief, and   
I want to roll over and die..."  
Snickering, the black-haired woman joined her fiancée on the couch   
and snuggled into his embrace. "One thing's for sure," she commented in a   
more relaxed tone than when Brian's parents had been in the room. "Haley   
and Eric are hitting it off..."  
The gold-brown haired boy turned at the mention of his name. He was   
thin, and reasonably tall, but Brian's copper eyes accented his facial   
features and drew any on-looker in... He was obviously the blonde man's   
brother. "Someone want me?" he inquired, shifting the sleeves of his not-  
quite-completed tuxedo shirt. "I heard my name..."  
"Nothing!" called Brian, glancing at the duo in the corner a bit   
suspiciously. "Just mentioning you in passing..."  
"Yeah right!" called Haley with a giggle, teal eyes sparkling in   
mirth. "Just don't lie like that to my sister, or the Glaive will get   
you!"  
With a snort, Reeny stopped her fevered pacing and plopped herself   
down on the arm of the couch. "Well, I still CAN'T believe that good old   
Hannah is getting married!" she announced, adjusting her not-yet-finished   
pale yellow gown as she spoke. "I remember when you caught my hat..."  
The purple-eyed woman smiled weakly in bittersweet remembrance. "I   
remember..." she sighed, chewing on her lower lip as she glanced tearfully  
at her childhood friend. "I remember it all. Every heartbeat we shared,   
every time you managed to make me feel good about myself or tried to   
comfort me..." She wiped away a tear and reached forward, finding and   
holding tightly to one of the teen's hands. "Reeny... Thank you..." she   
choked, laying a gentle kiss on the Princess' ring finger.   
There was a bit of staggered applause from Terrence, Lita, Celeste,   
Haley, and Eric. Brian took into his arms his shaking, weeping girlfriend.  
There was a long pause.  
And then, Susan burst into tears.  
"That was so beautiful!" she cried, holding her head in her hands.   
"So lovely! I don't know what to say..."  
Her boyfriend came up behind her and patted her back, sending Hannah  
a meaningful glance as he did so. "Is she always like this?" he asked the   
young woman urgently, furrowing his brow.   
"Only in the last few weeks," she responded casually, still trying   
to overcome her tears. "Her hormones have basically taken control of her   
body."  
The brunette teen snickered and joined the rest of the group, her   
newfound friend following close behind. "You should have seen her when we   
watched 'Gone With the Wind' last weekend," Haley chortled, standing   
behind the loveseat. A sardonic smile crossed her face. "Better yet...   
Rent some sappy, sad movie and watch it and..."  
"Okay, Haley," came Lita's very urgent voice as the blonde child   
jumped off the makeshift platform they had built for measuring dresses.   
"You're next..."  
"Blech..." The teen made a face and stepped up onto the   
conglomeration of plywood and two-by-fours. "I hate dresses..."  
Eric smiled. "One week and counting, right?"  
"One week," agreed his older brother.  
Raising a single green eyebrow, the woman on the loveseat halted her  
sobbing to look up at the group. "I thought the wedding was in two weeks,"  
she whispered, half to herself. "It can't be in one week..."  
"Why not, Auntie?" asked Hannah in a concerned voice, cocking her   
head to one side.  
Obviously flustered, the tall woman rose, all color draining from   
her dark-skinned face. Her garnet eyes were bloodshot as she glanced   
weakly at her pregnant belly. "N...Nothing..." she stammered shakily,   
starting for the stairs in her strange waddle. "Absolutely nothing..."  
************  
  
"One-two-three, two-two-three, three-two-three..." Rapping her   
pencil on the music stand, Irina leaned back in the chair and smiled as   
the other three instruments--bass, viola, and cello--finally played in   
tune together. Her brown eyes closed slowly as she listened to the music,   
flowing about her and engulfing her body in the most peaceful world...  
And then, there was a crash.  
Eyes snapped open as the high school senior glanced at the back of   
the orchestra room. There, in a pair of too-big jeans and a baggy sweater,  
stood a guilty looking blonde girl with strangely curly hair. "What are   
YOU doing here?" she shot in relative annoyance, rising from her seat and   
striding toward the door. "Mrs. Ten'ou said that we could rehearse   
here..."  
Johanna gritted her teeth. "Irina..."  
The blonde girl smiled and proceeded to pick up the large case she   
knocked over. "Mrs. Ten'ou herself?" she asked innocently, not at all   
menaced by the tall, tough-looking young woman walking toward her.   
"Yes. And your point?" Bristling further, she continued her pursuit.  
Grinning like an idiot, the girl pushed the case against the wall.   
"Which Mrs. Ten'ou?" she inquired sweetly, brown eyes sparkling knowingly.  
Three bows clattered to the floor, as did a pencil. The quartet   
gasped in unison and stared in doubt at the chipper blonde teen.   
"Wha...what did you just say?" gulped Kevin, he too rising from his chair   
as he gaped at the stranger.  
Bowing deeply, the blonde extended a hand toward the   
concertmistress. "I'm Lyra Mokoti," she introduced, shaking the young   
woman's hand firmly before going back to the large case and further   
adjusting it. "And I was looking for my tuba."  
"You know the Ten'ous?" asked Katie, completely shocked. "You've got  
to be kidding me..." She glanced at the others. "Us..."  
"Nope!" Lyra walked over to a large wooden cabinet and threw it   
open, standing on her tiptoes to see the top shelves. "A little help   
here?"  
Kevin stepped forward, pulling up a chair to aid in removing the   
tuba from the cabinet. "But..." He furrowed his brow, pausing in his aid.   
"We thought we were the only ones who knew about their sexuality..."  
"KEVIN!" scolded the other three loudly, all paling as their friend   
shrugged and began to pull out the large black case.   
"What he means," supplied the wavy-haired Johanna in a reasonable   
tone as she watched the blonde boy tug the instrument from the shelf, "is   
that we didn't think there were many students of this school that knew   
about either the wedding or the...Ten'ou family situation."  
Cocking her head reflectively toward the brunette, Lyra smiled   
widely. "You guys were the ones who played at the wedding!" she announced   
triumphantly. She then paused, soaking in the brunette's words. "And I   
don't go here, anyway."  
Katie stared at her. "Then where..."  
"Crossroads Junior High and High School." She smiled once again.   
"You guys seem really nice, you know that?"  
"Of course we are!" the young man announced, giving a mighty tug to   
the case's handle and making a face when it refused to budge. "How..." He   
pulled again. "Could you..." He grunted in effort. "Think otherwise..."   
And he yanked with all his weight thrown into it...  
There was a loud, frightening clatter as Kevin, the tuba in its   
case, and the chair all went flying backwards, landing on the last of the   
four tile risers.   
"Oh my God!" screamed Irina, running down to where the young man and  
tuba lay in a heap. "You almost smashed my violin!"  
Holding back a snicker, Johanna smiled gently at Lyra while the   
concertmistress chewed the dazed boy out. "You know the Ten'ous?"  
The blonde nodded. "I'm friends with Haley." Pausing, she glanced at  
the brunette and the other, cello-playing blonde. "What song are you   
playing at the wedding?" she asked suddenly, as though some sort of   
premonition came over her. The duo stared at her. "The Wedding March or   
what?"  
Now understanding, Katie shrugged. "We're not sure," she admitted a   
bit guiltily. "We were thinking something by Pacabel..."  
Shaking her head quickly, Lyra took a step toward them and folded   
her hands. Her brown eyes sparkled with some sort of strange, knowing   
power. "I've got a better idea," she confided in them. "Something that--  
if I know the Ten'ous--will mean much more to them..."  
Returning, beautiful red-brown instrument cradled in her arms,   
Irina smiled. "And what would that be?" she inquired.  
From his spot on the floor, Kevin groaned loudly. "Uhhhh... Help..."   
The foursome pulled themselves into a tight huddle and began to   
talk.  
************  
  
"I still don't get it!" Red eyes flared in anger as she paced up and  
down the balcony. "She's this rude little ball of ugly fuzz... None of us   
can stand her..." She paused. "Even MOM doesn't like her!"  
Artemis laughed, staring out across the city of Tokyo. His blue eyes  
were slightly amused, but also sad. It was April now. The month of spring.  
New renewal. Hope.   
The Galactic Sailors... They had won. They had done it. And his   
daughter and son had helped to make it that much more possible. It was   
finally--after far too long--a time for peace and redemption.  
If, of course, Diana would allow it. He glanced at her once again.   
"Diana, why don't YOU like Orion?" he asked in a somber tone. "I know why   
your mother doesn't, but..."  
"Which would be?" she prompted, interjecting her comment into his   
sentence.  
He shook his head. "You can ask her." The answer was stern. "But I   
want YOUR reason."  
She paused and sat on her haunches, furrowing her brow as she   
brainstormed. "Well, she swears a lot." She glanced upward in thought.   
"And she's very relaxed around the Scouts..."  
The white cat smiled. "And?"  
"And she got a whole lot of your guidance." Diana gasped at her   
comment. "Am I just jealous?"  
"Jealous," he agreed, "and under an undue influence."  
Silence, heavy silence, fell over the area. Her red eyes trailed to   
look at the sea. Only a month ago, they'd stood in the same place. And the  
little calico had won the powers--and favors--of Artemis. HER father. But,  
then, there was Luna...  
"You really think that the only reason that I hate Orion is Mom?"   
inquired the pink cat, a bit shocked. "I mean, I know I'm supposed to   
listen to her and stuff, but I never thought..."  
Artemis interrupted. "I don't think that," he told her. "I just   
think that, all your life, we've been spoon-feeding you advice and trying   
to assure ourselves that everything will be alright." He turned away and   
sighed. "Sometimes, I think that that's what makes both Orb and Orion   
really good Guardians--they don't have to live up to our expectations like  
we've taught you to." Gulping, he allowed his blue eyes to catch with her   
red ones. "I think that we've taught you too much. You've stopped   
listening to your instincts and have starting paying a lot of attention to  
what makes logical scene. Logic doesn't always have the answer," he   
assured her gently. "Your heart does, however."  
"I should go talk to Mom," his daughter told him in a weak voice. "I  
think it's time I found out what Orion did."  
"You're not going to like it," he warned her. "I promise you that.   
But beyond all words there are expectations, hopes, and dreams. Those are   
what you're to hold onto." He grinned. "Or else."  
She purred slightly at his comment and walked through the cat door,   
going back into the Kino apartment to most likely ask Alice to let her   
out.   
Artemis looked out over Tokyo. For hundreds of years, he'd helped   
protect the great city. But now, the helpers were of a new, different   
generation. His children's generation. And the white ex-guardian smiled.  
Because he wouldn't have it any other way.  
************  
  
"Well, I basically think that lavender would look very nice on you,"  
put in Mrs. Hartford, sipping her green tea as she spoke to the aqua-  
haired woman. "As the mother of the bride, you should look absolutely   
gorgeous..."  
Michelle shook her head a little. "But, in all honesty, I'd really   
just to wear something in light blue..."  
Lowering his eyes to a glare, Frank Hartford tightened his grip on   
the tiny porcelain teacup. "My wife said lavender," he shot at the   
musician. "Lavender, it will be."  
"My wife," retorted the tall blonde woman, straightening her suit   
coat as she poured herself a large mug of coffee, "looks good in   
everything."  
"Gray-blue or navy, perhaps," responded Delia, smiling at the   
slightly blushing woman, "but I really think that light blue would not go   
with that outrageous hair color..."  
Growling, Alex tossed her full mug into the sink in frustration.   
"Who's calling who outrageous?" she roared angrily. "You're a rude one,   
Delia..."  
Frank stood quickly, striding over to the blonde. "Who do you think   
you are?"  
"I know who you are!" shot the woman, narrowing her gray-green eyes.  
"You're a rude meathead who expects me to let you into MY house and eat   
MY food and have your son marry MY daughter..."  
"Alex..." warned Michelle, standing slowly. "Don't start..."  
"What's so great about your daughter anyway?" snapped Frank,   
pounding one of his fists into the palm of his other hand. "Hannah is a   
pristine goddess. Brian should marry a real girl!"  
The musician turned on him. "Real girl?" she asked, shocked. "Whose   
wife doesn't have a college degree?"  
"I resent that!" protested Delia, tossing her bright hair over her   
shoulders. "How DARE you talk about me like that?"  
"STOP IT RIGHT NOW!"  
The squabbling stopped. Four heads of four mad adults turned to   
glance at a single young blonde man. He stood in the stairwell, glaring up  
at them with angry copper eyes. Stepping forward and into the kitchen, he   
cleared his throat. "What is going on here?" he asked.  
The Hartfords both pointed their separate accusations at the two   
Ten'ous, expressions of pure innocence replacing the angry glares. "They   
were being rude," the burly man told his son, crossing his arms   
itimadatingly. "Especially the blonde one."  
"Who started it?" roared Alex angrily, attempting to charge forward.  
Her wife grabbed her wrist, and she paused. Tossing her head of sandy   
hair, she stalked into the living room and pounded up the stairs.   
Brian glanced at Michelle. "Why don't you go and try to deal with   
Alex?" he suggested in a cool tone. She nodded solemnly and strode quickly  
out of the kitchen.  
Delia tucked a strand of hair behind her left ear. "Now, Brian..."  
"Sit." His tone was dry and livid. "Both of you sit. Right now."  
His parents sat at the table, turning their chairs to face him as he  
went to the sink and filled himself a glass of water. His normally cheery   
grin had given way to a disastrous, angry, and very disdainful frown, and   
his copper eyes were, behind his glasses, focused into a very upset glare.  
Sipping the water calmly, he looked as though he were a dormant volcano--  
ready to erupt.  
He took a deep breath upon setting the cup down and broke the uneasy  
silence. "I've had enough of this nonsense."  
With a delighted smile, his father stood up. "Glad you agree, son!"   
he returned, walking over to the young man. "We should forget this silly   
business with Hannah and find you a high-class..."  
"I meant, I've had enough with your arguing." He glanced at his big   
father, and the man immediately sat back down. "I love Hannah. I mean, I   
really truly love her." Licking his lips, he paced back and forth across   
the kitchen, playing with his slightly un-sewn tuxedo's cummerbund as he   
did so. "And I like her family. Haley, Alex and Michelle make me feel a   
lot more at home than you guys do." He heard a gasp come from his mother.   
"I want you guys to get along. Or else."  
Delia chewed on her lower lip. "But... Brian..."  
"Grow up!" he shot at her, interrupting what was about to be a very   
long and emotional lecture. "I know you're nervous. And I know that, for   
whatever reason, you dislike the Ten'ous. But I really don't care." He   
glanced at the two of them. "If you don't stop fighting with them right   
now, then..." He sighed. "Then you loose a son."  
"You're irrational," his father pointed out in a logical tone.   
"That's all..." Brian sent a stony glare his way and the man gave up.   
"Fine. We agree with your terms." Frank gulped upon saying this. "And   
you're right--we are scared."  
Nodding, the woman crossed her legs. "We've never been the parents   
of the groom before." She sniffled a little. "And it is very, very scary."  
"Don't be scared," Brian told them reassuringly. "You're not losing   
a son; you're gaining Hannah."  
Frank cocked his head. "Don't you mean a daughter?" he asked,   
confused.  
"No." Brian smiled mysteriously. "I mean Hannah."  
There was a pause before Mrs. Hartford, whether it in her slightly   
deranged, upset state or out of good humor, began to laugh at her son's   
comment. "Are the Tenlous really that different?" she inquired of her son   
through giggles, botching the last name once again. "They seem like a nice  
couple..."  
He looked at her in slight doubt. "You really have no idea," he   
commented with a slight smile. "No idea at all."  
Just then, little Celeste stuck her head up the stairs and glanced   
at the blonde man. "Brian?" she asked sweetly, pushing some golden hair   
from her face. "Can you tell Alex that it's her turn?"  
With a slight gasp, Frank raised an eyebrow and looked at Delia.   
The woman shrugged, confused.  
Walking to the other flight going upstairs, Brian cleared his   
throat. "Miss Alex!" he called. "Your turn!"  
Choking on his own breath, the older man gaped at his son. "MISS   
Alex?" he questioned, aghast.  
The tall blonde woman walked down the stairs, dressed in her   
unfinished tuxedo. In her shirt--which did not yet have sleeves--and   
without a suit coat, she looked a bit different than she had previously.   
In fact, she looked very, very female.   
She cocked her head at Frank. "Alexandra Ten'ou," she smiled   
cockily, knowing what kind of shock he was going through. After all,   
she'd seen it all before. "I thought you knew..."  
"Alex!" called up Lita's voice rather harshly. "Get your butt down   
here before you can't sit on it for a week!"  
She obeyed, but not before sending one more amused, self-fulfilled   
glance at the man.  
Frank took a deep breath. "But...but..." he stammered, looking at   
his wife. "I... How... He's a... She's a... Alex is Alexandra?" His voice   
wavered as he placed a shaking hand on the table.  
"I should have guessed," Delia chided herself, nodding as to affirm   
her words. "I knew there was something very funny about that 'man'..."  
Smiling to himself, Brian leaned against the kitchen counter. "You   
don't know the half of it," he muttered to himself.  
************  
  
Phoebe cleared her throat. "Look around..." she sang, the low notes   
reverberating through the auditorium as she did so. "So many things   
aren't... My God!" She turned around and glared daggers at the seven   
musicians before her. "It's an F-sharp!" She threw a pencil at the tall   
clarinetist.  
Deftly catching the projectile, Tara marked the sharps she'd missed.  
"Stage hog," she mumbled to herself.  
"We're out of tune," put in Lyra, adjusting the tuba's weight on her  
leg. "Just a tad sharp..."  
With a grimace, the concertmistress turned to face the blonde girl.   
"YOU have perfect pitch?" she gasped, completely shocked out of her wits.   
"I've worked for years to accomplish that..."  
She shook her head and held a tiny black rectangle above her head.   
"I have a tuner," she responded with a smile. "There is a difference."  
Alice stuck out her tongue, tightening her bow. "Explain why I have   
to play second violin again," she grumbled.  
"Because I am the cello in this quartet!" bragged Katie, sticking   
her chest out as she played a low, beautiful note. "You may have   
technique, Kino, but you don't have tone."  
"Eat my bow, Knisley," the auburn-haired teen shot back, raising the  
instrument to her chin. "How easily you forget your place."  
Rolling her brown eyes, Johanna plucked one of her viola strings.   
"Let's just get this over with..."  
Kevin grinned at the blue-haired teen in front of the group and   
waved slightly. "You available tomorrow, Phoebe?" he asked sweetly.  
"KEVIN!" hollered the entire mini-orchestra, including the blushing   
vocalist. "SHUT UP!"  
The singer cleared her throat. "Are we ready to start over?" she   
asked in a rather dry tone, shooting a 'look' at the others as she spoke.   
"Because I have dance practice in about an hour..."  
"But I think that piano truly complements this piece," put in a   
rather deep voice from the back of the room. Everyone turned to glance at   
a reasonably tall young man with dark red hair and silver-rimmed glasses.   
He smiled charmingly, depositing a few sheets of music on the piano at the  
back of the stage. "What do you say?" Richard asked, staring at Phoebe   
with his deep blue eyes. "Will you let me play?"  
Irina stood slowly, smoothing her school uniform as she strode   
slowly over to the young man. She looked rather seductive as she sashayed   
to the piano. "Well, young man," she drawled, batting her eyelashes, "I   
don't know..." Wordlessly, she grabbed onto the piano and began pulling it  
on its dolly toward the group, her sexy smile replaced by a hardy grin.   
"But let's see how you play!"  
Lyra let out the breath she didn't know she'd been holding in. The   
rest of the group laughed, and her three friends--Tara, Alice, and   
Phoebe--sent her meaningful, good-natured glances.  
"Shall we try again?" inquired the blue-haired soprano as the   
concertmistress sat down and as the pianist pulled the bench up to the   
large grand piano. "I don't have all year. In fact, I have..."  
"DANCE PRACTICE IN AN HOUR!" chorused all of the group members sans   
Richard. "WE KNOW!"  
Giggling, she turned around and closed her light blue eyes. The   
pickups were played, soft and beautiful, and Phoebe smiled.  
"Look around... So many things aren't clear... Don't worry,   
though..."  
And the beautiful tune filled the auditorium.  
************  
  
"None of your damn business," came her short responded the small   
animal, extremely short with her daughter. "Leave me alone."  
Diana walked after her mother, furrowing her brows as she followed   
after her. "No." She jumped in front of the chubby black cat, her red eyes  
penetrating into the orange ones of her mother. "I want to know what Orion  
did to make her so absolutely evil."   
The older cat was silent, but also motionless as she stared at her   
daughter for a very long moment. She finally sighed and hung her head   
gently. "Do you really want to here the whole, long story?" she asked,   
annoyed.  
"Yes," the pink animal nodded furiously. "I want to know why you've   
tried to avoid her for the last months and why you got into that fight   
with her."  
Taking a breath, Luna sat down, only three or four inches from her   
daughter. "When the Silver Star Kingdom was created," she began with a   
sigh, "the Silver Millennium was already established and it was extremely   
strong. Queen Serenity--the Neo-Queen's mother--was worried about the fate  
of the new kingdom.  
"Because of this, she asked the both of us--your father and I, I   
mean--to help watch over the tiny Star Kingdom." She paused for a moment,   
tears biting at her eyes in the painful memory. "Well, I refused. I was   
scared. But your father agreed to help.  
"The rulers of the Silver Star created this Guardian Spirit for   
their world. It was a very strong being, so they decided that to set the   
spirit in the form of a cat."  
Diana gasped, a bit astonished. "Orion's a spirit?" she inquired.  
The black animal nodded. "An extremely strong one at that. To this   
day, I fear a run-in with that animal in her true form. It could be   
frightening..." She shivered before continuing on.  
"Artemis said that the only way for him to properly guide the   
kingdom would be for him to develop a telepathic bond with the spirit. The  
rulers agreed. Everything was fine.  
"But Orion, as the Queens dubbed her, was very doubtful of her own   
abilities. When it was decided for her to save the children and the   
rulers, she needed too much help. Her second-guessing herself led to her   
lack of time and your father--fearing her death and, therefore, inability   
to complete the mission--told her to sleep."  
Letting her mother's words sink in, the young cat blinked her large   
eyes. Orion... Second-guessing herself? That just didn't sound right...   
She raised a pink eyebrow in thought. That went completely against her   
father's faith in the cat...  
Luna continued. "I was unforgiving of the young Guardian, I admit.   
But she single-handedly caused the downfall of an entire empire!" She   
clicked her tongue against the back of her teeth. "It's a shame, too,   
because she had a lot of potential..."  
"It doesn't sound like her fault to me," spoke Diana aloud, looking   
at her mother with doubtful magenta eyes. "It just seems like you needed a  
scapegoat..."  
The older Moon cat made a face. "Diana!" she scolded as her child   
stood and starting running down the hallway. "Where are you going?" she   
called after the pink animal.  
Pausing, the young Guardian glanced at her stubborn old mother and   
sighed. "I think I owe someone an apology," she responded in a casual   
voice, running down the hall as quickly as she could.  
************  
  
"Mommy!" called Ambriel in a loud voice as the Princess arrived in   
her chambers, carrying a large, long garment bag. "Mommy's home!"  
With a slight laugh, Lisa entered the room and brushed off her   
apron. "Hello, Princess," she greeted the pink-haired teen with a slight   
smile. "Did you have fun at the Ten'ous?"  
Reeny shrugged and collapsed backwards onto the bed, closing her   
large red eyes as she did so. "Getting ready for a wedding is SO   
draining!" she groaned, letting out a long sigh. "And I'm not even the   
bride!"  
Trying to climb up onto the bed, the little red-haired toddler   
tugged on her 'mommy's' skirts. "Package!" she told the tired teen.   
"Package!"  
"That's right!" exclaimed the blonde handmaiden, hitting herself in   
the head as she spoke. "I totally forgot!" Picking a large box up off the   
nearest pink couch, she placed it next to Reeny. "It passed through   
security--twice, actually--and both Diana and Ambry here seemed totally   
comfortable with it being in the room." She smiled, blue eyes glittering   
as she ruffled the hair of the little redhead.   
The Princess of the Earth glanced at it warily, one eye open and one  
eye closed. "What is it?" she questioned nervously, sitting slowly up and   
taking it onto her lap.  
Ambriel grinned and motioned for Lisa to pick her up. Her gray eyes   
once again had a mysterious knowing sparkle within them. "Present!" she   
announced, clapping her chubby little hands. "Present!"  
Furrowing her brow, Reeny shook it softly. The box was no bigger   
than a breadbox, really, and a bell sounded as she shook it. But the   
sound... It was so oddly familiar, and it sent shivers up and down her   
spine. There was something odd about that sound.  
Slowly, hands shaking, she tore of the nondescript brown paper   
wrapping to reveal a silver-white box. She took a deep breath and pulled   
off the top, gasping as she saw what was within.  
"What in the world is that thing?" questioned the handmaiden,   
blinking and shifting the weight of the little girl.  
Tears welled in red eyes. Within the box, sitting in a large   
quantity of tissue paper, was a small, heart-shaped loop of metal with a   
tiny bell attached at the point. The heart-shaped portion of it was red,   
with tiny, gold dimples in the cool metal. The bell itself was also   
golden, and she felt her heart jump as she laid a single finger on it's   
smooth, slightly warm surface. She'd not seen this in a long time...  
Holding back her tears, Reeny glanced up at her friend. "It's a   
relic from one time when I was back in the 20th century," she replied   
shakily, allowing the bell to ring once, then twice, then three times...   
"It was from when I met the Pegasus..."  
"You miss him?" inquired Lisa, sitting on the bed beside her pink-  
haired charge, allowing the toddler to reach forth and touch the artifact.  
The Princess nodded weakly, letting the tears trail down her face. The   
blonde wrapped an arm around her friend's shoulders. "I can understand   
why..." She smiled hopefully, but it didn't raise the teen's spirits any;   
the tears continued their flow.  
Placing the bell on her lap, she wiped away the tears. "At   
Christmastime, I had a dream with Helios in it," she told her handmaiden,   
sniffling as she stared at the tiny gift. "He was telling me he would   
return to me and then... Then..." She choked on her words. "There was a   
rose on my pillow and everything!"  
Ambriel patted one of her guardian's hands with her own. "No worry!"  
she cooed sweetly. "All is okay!"  
Lisa nodded, but something plagued her. Namely, something the Angel   
of the Moon had said months ago when she'd made the handmaiden vow to help  
raise the little Ambriel. What exactly had it been?  
Oh. Yes. 'And Helios will make a great father to both this girl and   
more children.' That's what she had said.  
Did it mean that the silver-haired priest of Elysion was going to   
return? And, if he did, what awaited them? What would happen to Ambriel   
with the priest of Elysion so nearby? Nothing made sense...  
"Lisa?" asked Reeny softly, putting a hand on the woman's shoulder.   
The blonde snapped from her reverie and glanced at the Princess, smiling   
sadly. The tears upon the pink-haired maiden's face were quickly drying,   
and a slight smile touched her soft, pink lips. "You alright, Lisa?" she   
asked delicately.   
Nodding, the handmaiden stood quickly. "Yes, well, I'm fine," she   
quickly answered, turning her back to the teen so that she would not have   
to gaze into the worried, sweet red eyes. "Perfectly fine. Never been   
better."  
"Liar." Ambriel's voice carried through the room as she spoke.   
"Lisa liar."  
The blonde just ignored the child, scooping the garment bag off the   
bed. "This dress will get very wrinkled if we don't hang it up," she   
suddenly said in a resolved voice, smiling as realistically as she could.   
"Let's put it in the closet, alright?"  
Reeny picked up the little girl and followed her friend and adult   
advisor into the large walk-in closet. "If you say so, Lisa," she   
responded timidly. "But are you sure you're okay?"  
"Fine, fine," the handmaiden retorted quickly, glancing back at the   
concerned face of her Princess. "Swear it..."  
But, perhaps... Lisa sighed. Perhaps she was wrong.  
************  
  
Orion walked slowly as she listened to the pink cat try to collect   
her thoughts.   
"Well... It's like this... Um..." Diana sighed and started again.   
"What I mean is... Well, I was talking to my parents, and..."  
It had been like that for the last five minutes. The calico Silver   
Star guardian had been on her way to the Mokoti household when the pink   
animal had come bounding into Richard's apartment, demanding to talk to   
the other cat. Orion had conceded to listening to the whatever the Moon   
cat had to say--on the way to the Mokoti's, of course. And Diana had   
agreed happily.  
And now... Now, the pink animal could not form a complete thought to  
save her life.   
"That's it," sighed the calico with an annoyed glance at Diana. She   
stopped in mid-step, as did her companion. "You either start talking   
instead of blathering or I will teleport to the Mokoti house and leave   
you here."  
"You can do that?" questioned the pink cat.  
The calico paused, glancing up at the sky nervously. Most the time,   
her 'teleportation' was just cheap parlor tricks that she'd picked up   
back in the Silver Millennium. "Uh... I can try," she shot defensively, as  
though that were a valid threat. "In fact, I can try really, really   
hard..."  
Rolling red eyes, Diana took a deep breath and muttered something   
about bad attitudes under her breath. "I talked to my parents today," she   
began, beginning to walk again with the ancient cat on her heels. "And my   
mother told me about the whole Silver Star thing."  
Orion paled noticeably. "And?" she inquired.  
"And... I think that she's wrong." Diana turned around and began to   
walk backwards down the nearly deserted sidewalk. She gulped and stared   
into the bright green eyes of her fellow cat. "I mean, don't get me   
wrong--you're a brat. A big brat. In fact, you make Orb look like a sweet   
cat..."  
About a block away, a skateboarder with headphones turned the corner  
and began down the sidewalk toward the cats. "Diana..." warned the calico   
cat in a low tone.  
Her companion made a face. "See what I mean?" she asked cynically.   
"You do little things like this all the time! And I think that's what my   
mom hates so much about you." She paused, reflectively, not noticing the   
faces that Orion was making as her forest-colored eyes followed the   
skateboarder as he coasted toward them. "Well, whatever the case may be,   
she resents you something awful. But I don't think..." She furrowed her   
brow. "Are you listening?"  
The skateboarder was scant feet away, now. The scrappy cat drew in a  
sharp, almost painful breath and dove onto the Moon cat, knocking them   
under a large blue mailbox and out of harm's way.  
Gasping as she realized how close she had been to death, Diana   
glanced at the skinny calico cat. Smiling gently, she felt a new   
appreciation for the other guardian rise in her throat.  
She shook it off.  
"Don't think this means I like you," she shot, shaking the dirt   
from her fur as she climbed out from under the mailbox. "Because I don't."  
Chuckling, Orion followed her out and sighed. "Of course not, Di,"   
she retorted jovially.  
The pink cat made a face. "I don't!"  
"No, really?"  
"Orion, shut up!"  
"I know you don't like me..."  
"You sarcastic jerk! I really don't like you!"  
"Never..."  
"You're an idiot! My mother's right!"  
"Really?"  
Their bickering echoed down the block.  
************  
  
He furrowed his brow and looked at the assembly before him. "Are you  
all sure that you can do this by yourselves?" he questioned nervously,   
licking his parched lips as he spoke.  
A young woman, her silvery sheet of hair flowing about her body and  
accenting the bright blue of her dress, smiled gently. "Of course, sir,"   
she told him, bowing as she spoke. "You can leave as soon as you wish."  
Piercing blue eyes glanced out of the window and surveyed the   
beautiful land--HIS land. The world was a swirl of greens, blues, pinks,   
and purples. The air smelt of earth, water, sunshine, and flowers... It   
was the perfect world.  
But what was a world without her in it? He smiled, remembering the   
gentle curves of her nearly adult body, the gentle and mysterious smile   
that had caressed her skin, and the glowing sheen of silken hair. She spun  
a strange, powerful web around him--a web of love. He took a deep breath   
and smelled the air for what would probably be the last time in years.   
"I leave tonight," he told the young woman, glancing toward her.   
"Promise me that our land will be safe."  
The woman bowed once again. "You are our Master," she told him in   
her silky, sweet voice. "You are the only one we will ever truly obey."   
Pausing, she smiled gently. "You do know that, Master?"  
He smiled. "Yes. I do."  
************  
  
"All the dresses finished and ready for their debuts tomorrow?"  
"Check!"  
"All the tuxedos ready to be warn on either their handsome men or   
sexy women?"  
A giggle. "Check!"  
"All guests completely RSVP-ed and ready to go?"  
"Check!"  
"All Hartfords given their appropriate rabies, tetanus, and   
tranquilizer shots?"  
"Mother!"  
The Ten'ou household was a bustle of action and energy. Six days   
had gone by since the fight with Delia and Frank and, in those days, all   
wounds had healed. Nothing would go wrong, this time. Nothing. Everything   
would be perfect.   
Alexandra placed the clipboard on the coffee table and leaned back   
into the couch, glancing out of the picture window in the living room as   
she listened to Haley attempt to teach Eric "Heart and Soul" on the piano.  
Faintly, she could hear someone--Michelle, most likely--typing on the   
computer. The smells of Lita's marvelous cooking filled the household, and  
the eternally young woman smiled to herself.   
If she could freeze time for just one second in time--just one--she   
would chose this one.  
Purple eyes absolutely glowing, Hannah leaned forward in her chair   
and glanced at her blonde parent. "Is that everything?" she asked gently,   
pulling the woman from her daydreaming.  
Nodding, the tomboy smiled at her eldest daughter. She could   
remember the day they'd sworn to raise the black-haired babe as their own.  
And they'd done a good job.  
She was an adult now. A doctor in a few months. Married in less than  
twenty-four hours. Leaving her whole family as she went on to bigger--and   
better--things. It hurt, somehow.   
"Where's Suse?" asked the aqua-haired musician, entering the room   
carrying a sheet of paper. "I can't make heads-or-tails of my e-mail from   
Amy."  
"She took a nap," Haley responded, trying to guide her friend's   
fingers over the white keys with little luck. "She said that she should   
have abstained from the Mexican last night."  
Alexandra pulled her wife onto her lap and held her close. "What   
does it say?" she inquired, trying to get a glimpse of the paper. "What's   
so hard to understand?"  
Clearing her throat, Michelle glanced down at the paper. "It says:   
'Tell Suse that I'll be in early tomorrow. She needs to stay off her feet   
and avoid all draining activities. I don't want something happening before  
I get into town, and there's a really good risk that it could.'" Michelle   
scratched her forehead nervously. "See what I mean?" Her blue eyes flew to  
the face of the blonde. "It's in code or something."  
Hannah bit the tip of her tongue, thinking. "Well, Auntie has to be   
due soon, right?" she asked thoughtfully, glancing at her parents as they   
studied the message. "Maybe she's just saying that she could go into labor  
early..."  
"But Susan's a Mistress," put in Alexandra, her gray-green eyes   
roaming over the sheet as she furrowed her brow. "Mistresses always are   
right on time." She smiled gently. "Or so I've heard," she sighed, holding  
her wife a little closer and planting a kiss on the other woman's nose.  
The brunette teen made a face. "Get a room!" she commanded her   
parents, sitting cross-legged on the bench while the boy continued to   
attempt the song.  
Smiling evilly, the blonde adult nuzzled her face into Michelle's   
neck for a few seconds to annoy her daughter before responding. "This is a  
room," she told the girl, pulling the beautiful aquatic woman as close to   
her body as she could. Seeing the teal eyes of the brunette widen, the   
blonde kissed her wife full on the lips, dipping her.  
"Got it!" announced Eric suddenly, and a disgusted Haley Ten'ou   
turned away, just in time to miss her parents pull away from each other,   
sharing secret smiles.  
Sighing wistfully, Hannah rested her chin in her hands. "Are Brian   
and I going to end up like that?" she asked, smiling at her parents as   
Alex tickled her wife's ribs before turning back to the bride-to-be. "Or   
am I going to end up as part of a normal, boring couple?"  
"Don't be to sure that my brother will be too romantic," warned Eric  
knowingly, playing the bottom part of the piece without trouble now. "He's  
not too good at stuff like that."  
Haley made a face and wrinkled her nose. "There's no such thing as   
true love," she sighed sadly. "All you ever get is hurt."  
The golden-brown haired boy stopped playing and looked to his   
friend. "I'm sure no one would ever hurt you on purpose," he told her,   
cocking his head as the copper eyes bore into her soul. "I don't even see  
why someone would want to..."  
Alex laughed aloud. Michelle smiled knowingly at her child's turned   
back. Hannah sniggered.  
"I heard that," shot the brunette sharply before taking one of   
Eric's hand and once again beginning the 'chore' of guiding his fingers   
over the piano keys.  
************  
  
She sat up in bed, wincing. Garnet eyes glanced at the digital   
clock on her nightstand. Midnight.   
Leaning back in the pillows, she shook her head and clutched her   
bulging belly. It'd been since three in the afternoon, right? Yes.   
Originally, the pain had only shot through her body once an hour... Then,   
once every fifty minutes...  
She took a deep breath. It was about once every forty minutes, now.   
What was she going to do?  
With a sigh, she pulled her ponytail band from her hair and let it   
fall loosely around her shoulders. Her due date was that day. Hannah's   
wedding day.  
"I'm not stealing her thunder," mumbled the woman, licking her lips.  
"Not today. This is her day..."  
Susan picked up the half-filled glass of water beside her and sipped  
it reflectively, eyes half-closed. At least she could go back to bed...  
At least for about forty minutes...  
************  
  
Smoothing the floor length red dress, the vocalist admired herself   
in the mirror. "Does Hannah know we're doing this?" she asked the group,   
not looking at them.  
With a shrug, Katie adjusted her bow tie and tugged on her tuxedo   
skirt. "I don't think she does," she responded, finger-combing her messy   
blonde hair. "Do you think she would care?"  
"Mm-hmm..."  
The room was filled practically to capacity with people. Present   
were the eight of the nine members of the mini-music group (Richard was   
in the room with the men), the two bridesmaids (Reeny and Haley) and the   
little flower girl. Also in attendance were two bickering, angry guardian   
cats.  
"Why'd you have to save my sister?" whined Orb at the calico, making  
a face. "It would have been so much easier to have her be lunchmeat!"  
Orion wrinkled her nose. "You're an ass!"  
"Oh yeah?"  
"Yeah!"  
"Want to step up to this?"  
"You couldn't take me!"  
Phoebe turned to the two cats, who were sitting, practically nose-  
to-nose, on a chair in the dressing room. "You two fight like an old   
married couple," she stated with a slight smile.  
The two animals glared at her. "WE DO NOT!" they chorused before   
starting to argue again.  
Celeste twirled around in her dress, looking up at the two   
bridesmaids. "This is going to be so fun!" she announce giddily, a large   
smile crossing her face. "Remember when I was the flower girl at Miss   
Alex's and Miss Michelle's wedding?"  
The Princess grumbled something about temper-tantrums under her   
breath but said nothing directly to the child. Instead, she focused on   
looping daisies around the two cone-shaped buns in her pink hair.  
With a chuckle, Haley bent over and ruffled the girl's golden hair.   
"Why don't you go find Michelle and have her put daisies in your hair,   
too?" she suggested helpfully, adjusting the crown of white-and-yellow   
flowers upon her own head. "I'm sure she'd be happy to make you pretty..."  
"Okay!" announced the child happily, bounding off as she spoke, the  
yellow dress' skirt flying out behind her as she skipped off.  
"I don't believe any of this," commented Lyra, pulling up her too-  
long skirt as she spoke. "Hannah's getting married, the evil of the   
universe has been banished..."  
Phoebe smiled and pulled the elastic bands from her hair, letting   
the cascade of navy blue flow to her waist. "I finally understand my   
mother better," she commented with a sigh.  
Sighing in turn, the Princess of the Earth blinked her large wine-  
colored eyes. "I finally became a good Scout with a Scout team of my own,"  
she declared with resolve. "That was my one goal in life."  
As Reeny spoke, Alice nodded in agreement. "And I think me and my   
mom have finally..."  
"This is all well and good," interjected Irina quickly, picking up   
her violin. "But we have half an hour until show time and we've yet to   
tune or anything."  
"But Irina," protested Kevin, pulling his tuxedo shirt on over his   
orange tee, "I like listening to the Sailor Scouts give little 'everything  
is alright' statements."  
The concertmistress rolled her brown eyes. "Later," she told him,   
motioning to the others. "We have bigger fish to fry."  
The teens, sans Reeny and Haley, filed out of the dressing room.   
The two bridesmaids paused to grab their shoes before wandering off to   
find where Hannah was. Which left...  
"She should have just been left to get smashed!"  
"You're a psychopath, Orb! She's your own SISTER! I don't believe   
you could say such a thing!"  
"Good-two-shoes!"  
"Idiot!"  
"I have half a mind to..."  
And the arguing continued.  
************  
  
Back and forth. Forth and back. Up and down. Down and up.  
"Stop pacing," whined Terrence, running a hand through his blonde-  
highlighted brown hair. "You're worse than Alex was at her wedding."  
The woman made a face. "I resent that!" she shot, adjusting her   
tuxedo coat for about the fifth time in a minute. "I wasn't that bad!"  
Laughing, the green-eyed prince shook his head. "Al, you got billed   
for putting ruts in the cathedral carpet," he reminded her in a complacent  
tone.   
Brian sighed and stopped in mid-step. "I'm so very nervous," he   
whined to them, clasping his hands together and then unclasping them   
again. And again. And...  
"Come on, Bri," his young brother encouraged him in a rather chipper  
tone. "You'll be perfectly fine. Don't worry in the least."  
The blonde man licked his lips and began pacing again. "Easy for   
you to say," he told his brother. "You're just a groomsman."  
Alex clapped her soon to be son-in-law on his back. "If you don't   
stop pacing and start acting like a sane person," she warned him, voice   
rather cold as her lips curved into a sardonic smile, "then I will no   
longer allow you to marry my daughter."  
With a chuckle, Richard Umino finished tying his bow tie. "Come now,  
Mrs. Ten'ou," he addressed the woman as he leafed through a folder for his  
piano music. "You're not that evil."  
The Mistress of Uranus laughed at the Starlit Prince. "You have no   
idea, Princey boy," she returned, sticking her hands in her pockets   
calmly. "I could also talk your dear friend Mrs. Mokoti about your   
girlfriend and..."  
"You know what? I have to go!" The young redhead grabbed the whole   
folder and rushed out of the room quickly, a fearful look plastered on his  
face.   
Eric laughed aloud, his copper eyes sparkling with mirth. "Is he   
that afraid of his girlfriend's mother?" asked the young man, cocking his   
head toward Alex.  
Smirking, Alex glanced at the brunette boy. "I should ask you how   
afraid you are of me then, shouldn't I?" she queried coyly.  
Paling, the younger Hartford decided to focus on his shoes.  
Terrence laughed a little and leaned against the wall, furrowing his  
brow. "You know what I just realized?" he inquired of the others. "Sets   
has been acting really weird this morning--avoiding me and the such."  
Alexandra nodded, thinking to herself. "She slept almost all day   
yesterday," she informed the young Chiba man. "She said it was the Mexican  
we'd had for dinner, but..."  
There was a knock at the door, and the voice of Frank Hartford   
traveled through it. "The Priestess wants all the..." He paused, coughing   
a bit. "...All the 'men' are supposed to be out there now."  
Eyes widening, Brian wiped his sweaty palms on his pants. "I've   
never been so scared in my entire life," he gulped, chewing on his lower   
lip. "Never..."   
"But even good things come from fear," the woman of the group   
assured him. Pausing on her way out of the door, she made a face. "Blech.   
I'm starting to sound like Tuxedo Mask..."  
Terrence laughed aloud, as did Brian and Eric.   
"Tuxedo Ten'ou," smiled the groom, brushing off his coattails as he   
strolled out the door with his groomsmen. "Now THERE'S a mental picture   
for you..."  
************  
  
He looked around the room. It was exactly how he'd remembered. There  
were three different couches, several tables of either pure white marble   
or mahogany, a small desk covered with unread schoolbooks and battered   
comics, and a large silver-sheeted canopy bed.  
Sitting down on the edge of said bed, he sighed and glanced at the   
only thing he had brought--his single picture of her. She'd been seven,   
maybe eight, at the time, her beautiful pink hair had been an absolute   
mess--blowing in the wind as she stood, staring at the camera. Her sweet   
smile was more mysterious than it usually was; it was as though the girl   
knew a forbidden secret that she wouldn't share. And she wore her school   
uniform, the bright blues of it really accenting the red of her eyes.  
She was a goddess.  
So wrapped up in his thoughts, was he, that he didn't notice as the   
blonde woman walked into the room. He didn't notice as she set a large   
pile of clothing down on one of the couches and picked up a full laundry   
basket.   
But he did notice when she turned full toward him and, gasping,   
dropped the basket to the floor. "It's... It's... It's YOU!" she s  
tammered, blue eyes flying wide as she stared at the young man. "I knew   
that the package came from you!"  
He smiled slightly at her and stood. "Who are you to know so much,   
Miss?" he inquired softly, taking her hand and laying a gentle kiss in   
its palm.   
"Lisa," she returned quickly, yanking her hand away and picking up   
the basket once again. "She... Well, she misses you."  
"That's why I'm here," he told Lisa, glancing out at the city of   
Crystal Tokyo with sadness in his mysterious, stormy eyes. "That's exactly  
why I'm here."  
************  
  
"And a-one, and a-two, and a..."  
"This is a wedding!" hissed Phoebe at the concertmistress, not   
turning around as the doors to the sanctuary slowly opened before their   
eyes. "Not some jazz performance!"  
Irina rolled her brown eyes and let Phoebe signal their downbeat.   
The rolling, beautiful introductory chords of the song echoed through the   
room as the first of the wedding party entered.  
"Look around; so many things aren't clear."  
The first person was Celeste. Her golden hair was back behind her   
head in a beautiful French braid, with tiny curled strands rimming her   
face. She smiled as she walked, tossing daisy petals about as she did so.   
"Don't worry, though; you know that I'll be there."  
Next were Haley and Eric, arm in arm. For the tomboy she was, the   
brunette teen looked absolutely gorgeous, the yellow of her long, low-cut   
dress bringing out the blue in her teal eyes. Her companion, Eric   
Hartford, looked no less charming in his tuxedo, and his copper eyes were   
smiling down at his friend.   
"A lot of things are so uncertain and the future's on its way."  
Reeny followed alone, her pink buns rimmed by daisies as she smiled   
and walked down the aisle as the maid of honor. Something about her just   
shone as she grinned at the congregation, her red eyes brimming with tears  
of excitement and joy as she took her place with the others.  
"But look into my crying eyes... Don't take your love away!"  
The entirety of the guest rose as the bride and her 'father' started  
down the aisle.  
"Sometimes, the road looks long; and, sometimes, the world seems   
wrong... But I know, I know--all you need is love..."  
Hannah's blackish purple hair cascaded around her face and down to   
her shoulders, greatly contrasting the white of her long, silk gown. The   
skirts of the dress swished like a bell as she strode toward the altar,   
on the arm of the blonde mother she loved so much.  
"And sometimes, you feel weak; and, sometimes, the future looks   
bleak... But I know, I know--all you need is love."  
Upon seeing his bride, Brian gasped and choked back tears. He   
looked quickly to his best man, Terrence. The older man just patted the   
blonde's shoulder discretely. Eric smiled softly at his brother. And   
Alex...  
From her spot beside the bride, Alexandra Ten'ou winked at them.  
"I know... I know... All you need is love..."  
Michelle burst out in tears and buried her head in her blue   
handkerchief. With a slight smile, Delia Hartford clutched the hand of her  
husband, trying not to cry. Susan choked back tears of joy, resting her   
folded hands on her belly.  
"I know... I know... All you need...is...love..."  
The Shinto High Priestess cleared her throat and smiled at Hannah   
and her mother. "Who gives this woman away?"   
Alex pulled her arm away from Hannah's grasp. "I do," she announced   
loudly, booming voice echoing through the room. Laying a chaste kiss on   
her daughter's cheek, she went to join her wife.  
Brian walked up next to his bride and wiped his sweaty palms on his   
pants before taking one of her soft, delicate hands.   
"Dearly beloved..."  
************  
  
And the pains were as close as ten minutes apart...  
************  
  
"Now, Brian, will you please take the rings and..."  
The blonde man's worried frown had long ago been replaced by a   
smile. Everything had gone beautifully. It seemed as though nothing could   
possibly go wrong. His bride looked like a goddess, her violet eyes   
shining as she gazed adoringly at him. Nothing had gone wrong.  
Yet.  
Brian turned to Terrence and held out a hand, waiting for the rings.  
The older man pursed his lips, sticking one of his hands in his coat   
pocket. "Rings..." he muttered to himself, patting his pants pockets after  
his first search failed. "Rings..." He opened his coat and looked through   
his two inner pockets for the elusive jewelry. "I know I had them   
somewhere..." His voice was becoming increasingly louder as he paused to   
scratch his head nervously. Green eyes glanced at the nearly fuming blonde  
as he smiled triumphantly and slipped off one of his shoes. "The rings!"   
he announced, pulling a tiny red silk pouch from his shoe. "I put them in   
my shoe so I wouldn't lose them!"  
There was good-natured laughter throughout the room as the groom   
snatched away the pouch. Susan, on the other hand, just shook her head.   
"I don't believe I'm dating that..." she mumbled.  
Trying earnestly not to laugh aloud, Raye cleared her throat. "Now,  
slip the ring over her finger and say 'with this ring, I thee wed'."  
He followed the directions, copper-eyed gaze never looking away from  
her beautiful face. "With this ring," he whispered to her, "I thee wed."  
Hannah took his ring in her hand and smiled at the priestess.   
Smiling back gently, Raye winked a purple eye knowingly. "Now, Hannah,   
slip the ring over Brian's finger and repeat the same words."  
The bride clutched his hand and put the beautiful golden ring upon   
his finger, voice hardly audible. "With this ring, I thee wed."  
Closing the book before her, Raye glanced up from the pulpit. "I now  
pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride."  
Brian wrapped his arms around Hannah and they kissed. Michelle's   
sobs went from racking to deafening. Susan burst into her own tears. Haley  
cheered for her sister.  
"I now present Mr. and Mrs. Brian Hartford!"  
And all the world seemed peaceful as the couple walked down the   
aisle as the orchestra played a cheery tune.  
And all the world was.  
************  
  
"Care to dance, Princess?"  
"Eeouch! Mom, why didn't you warn me it was hot?"  
"Eric, if you call me that one more time..."  
"You should be more careful, Alice..."  
"Has anyone seen Puu?"  
"What do mean, Haley? Do you mean 'Princess'?"  
"No... Why?"  
"Shut up, you brat!"  
"YOU should have told me it was hot!"  
"I've got a funny feeling..."  
The large ballroom of Crystal Palace was filled with the shouts and   
laughter of the wedding reception. Music boomed out of the large speakers,  
filling the room with strange echoes. (Hey, it's a marble room okay? What   
do you expect?) And the party itself, more than anything else, was   
booming.  
Tossing his shaggy gold-brown hair, Eric tugged harder on the   
brunette's arm. "Please?" he whined at Haley, eyes begging her to dance.  
She snubbed him. "Do you know how annoying you are?" she questioned   
him, not daring to fall into the pleading copper-eyed gaze. "Get yourself   
a different dance partner!"  
Bending down to look her in the eye, he brought her hand to his lips  
and laid a gentle kiss in its palm. "Come on, Haley," he beseeched her,   
his breath on her hand sending shivers up and down her spine. She just   
nodded weakly, melting.  
And Tara laughed. "Strange girl," she commented to Alice, lugging a   
large pot onto the buffet table. "You'd think she was trying to fend off   
the guy."  
The auburn-headed teen stared wistfully at the couple, clutching an   
icepack to a swelling burn on the back of her left hand. Shaking her head,  
as though to clear it, she glanced up at the taller Scout. "Yeah, well, I   
think that she likes him," she put in quickly, refilling one of the   
breadbaskets with her functional hand. "But what good are guys?"  
"Plenty of good." Reeny joined the duo, winking a red eye as she did  
so in Alice's direction. "So, have you guys seen Puu?"  
"WHO?" asked the two in unison, staring blankly at the Princess.  
She rolled her eyes. "You know... Tall, very pregnant, Guardian of   
Time..." The others both shook their heads in response to her previous   
question, and she let out a slow sigh. "Well, then, I don't get it," she   
said solemnly, chewing her bottom lip. "She's disappeared off the face of   
the Earth and I have this funny feeling that I just can't put my finger   
on..." She let out another long sigh.  
Alice sniggered. "You too?" she asked the Princess, sending a glance  
in Tara's direction. "I thought only a Shinto could feel funny things like  
that, and..." Ending the thought with a chuckle, she started for the   
kitchen area of the ballroom to further help her mother.  
With a shake of her head, the younger teen looked at her Princess.   
"One of these days," she mumbled, following the other Scout.  
On the other end of the ballroom, Alexandra stood leaning against   
the wall, trying to console a still-crying Michelle. "It will be fine,"   
she cooed sweetly, rubbing the other woman's back softly. "Hannah's not   
moving to the other end of the galaxy or anything..."  
"But she's moving out!" sobbed Michelle, burying her head in her   
soaking handkerchief. "My little girl's growing up..."  
Suddenly, a hand reached out and clutched the blonde's wrist,   
dragging her onto the dance floor against her will. She gasped, unsure   
what to expect, and tried to weasel free of the grasp without avail. "What  
the Hell are you doing?" she hissed at her assailant as she narrowed her   
stormy eyes. "And do you know how dumb you look?"  
Terrence grinned evilly and twirled her under his arm. "I remember   
the last time we were in this very ballroom together," he told the woman   
with a green-eyed wink. "You left me on the floor..."  
"Yeah, well..." She paled noticeably, still struggling. "I wasn't   
wearing a tuxedo then, anyway," she pointed out, glancing around only to   
find that she was trapped. "You look exceptionally gay..."  
"Have you seen Sets?" he asked her, pulling her close and looking   
into the gray-green eyes. Alex's breath was ragged from her attempt to   
fight him off. "She's all but disappeared..."  
Now serious, the blonde woman shook her head and pulled away from   
him as hard as she could, nearly knocking herself over when he let her   
wrists go. "No, I haven't," she shot at him in a dry tone. "Is something   
wrong?"  
He nodded solemnly. "I think so," he told her in a soft voice.   
"She's been acting really odd today, and I fear for her..."  
Alex gulped, a sudden pang of emotion clutching her heart. Could   
something be wrong? It was possible. With a pregnant Susan roaming the   
world, all things were possible. "I'll keep my eyes open," she vowed,   
starting to walk away. "Maybe you should have a girl who looks like a girl  
check the bathroom..."  
"Yeah." Terrence smiled slightly at her. Maybe she did have a heart   
after all. She was already striding away, no doubt muttering disparaging   
comments about his parentage under her breath, but he did catch her   
attention with his words.  
"Thank you, Alexandra."  
************  
  
"No... Not now!" She pounded the bathroom countertop with her fist.   
"This is not the time!"   
Laughter shook her body suddenly as she realized that she was   
helpless. She was Sailor Pluto! She was NEVER helpless! There had to be   
some sort of rule against that! Her laughter turned to tears. She was   
helpless.  
"I'm going insane," she mumbled to herself. "Completely insane..."  
And she left to find her boyfriend.  
************  
  
"So, this is it..." Phoebe leaned back in the chair and looked at   
her companions--a young, adorable couple, a rather concerned-looking   
Princess with a redheaded toddler in her arms, and a cute little girl.   
"It's all over."  
Reeny shook her head a little and kissed the top of her foundling's   
tiny ponytail. "I don't think it is," she smiled at her friends, watching   
Haley dance with the young man who was undoubtedly gone on her. "Even if   
our fighting is over, our legacy lives on."  
Eyes reflective, Richard put his arm protectively around his   
girlfriend's shoulders, smiling a bit as he patted her upper arm. "It   
lives on in the others," he stated, glancing at Celeste. "And in all of   
us."  
"And it lives on in the other destined ones..." Green eyes turned   
toward a rather sick-looking Susan as she waddled out of the bathroom.   
"The ones who are yet to come..."  
The Princess glanced at the green-haired adult as well, furrowing   
her brows as she did so. "Is that foreshadowing?" inquired she, turning   
her gaze to the six-year-old as she spoke.  
Celeste just smiled. "It just may be..." she hinted coyly. Her eyes   
flickered from the Princess, to her sister, to her sister's destined, and   
to the blue-haired actress. "You tell me..."  
Jumping to her feet, the dramatist wagged a finger at the girl. "I   
think that means we should keep a closer eye on Susan!" she hissed,   
glancing quickly at the woman in question with a look of slight fear in   
her ice-colored eyes. "She could be in danger! Her life could depend on   
us!"  
"I doubt it's THAT bad," mumbled Richard calmly, though his eyes   
refused to trail from Susan.   
"It's usually not life-threatening when one's water breaks," the   
six-year-old said with a certain prophetic ring in her high voice. "I   
wouldn't freak out if I were you..."  
Ten eyes all stared blankly at the girl. Gray ones sparkled as   
Ambriel clapped her hands together in excitement and delight. But, as for   
the other four shocked individuals...  
"SUSAN!"  
************  
  
"Your who did what?" His green eyes narrowed as he pushed the   
glasses up on his nose and gazed blankly at her.   
She didn't look like she was feeling well, he observed to himself as  
he smiled slightly at her. The normally silken green-black hair was   
disheveled and matted to her face by what appeared to be sweat as she   
stood. Her face was drained of all color, her sweet red eyes were   
bloodshot, and she seemed to be wobbly on her feet. As she looked into   
his eyes, one of her hands on his shoulder to balance herself, he melted   
inwardly. He loved her. And always would. Through thick and thin, he would  
be there. He WANTED to be.   
Susan glared daggers at a strange, chesty blonde woman who stood,   
arms crossed, behind Terrence, no doubt craving to be back in the arms of   
the tuxedoed man who would be her dance partner. Leaning forward a bit,   
the tall woman grimaced as she felt another pain well within her and   
clenched her eyes shut. "My water broke," she whispered in a very weak   
voice, her grip on his shoulder tightening as the pain hit her harder.   
"SUSAN!" chorused several young voices, one of which Terrence   
recognized as Reeny's. At the other end of the room, a group of young   
destined heroes rushed toward the couple, obviously concerned.  
The man gulped, afraid. "You sure?" he questioned of the woman.  
She nodded weakly, biting her lower lip as tear welled in her eyes.   
"It hurts," she whispered as strongly as she could. "A lot..."  
"Is she okay?" Reeny ran up beside the couple and glanced nervously  
at her friend.  
"We came as soon as Celeste warned us," put in the curly-haired Star  
Princess.  
Her boyfriend nodded quickly. "Sometimes her strange powers come in   
handy," he put in, staring at the Guardian of Time.  
Phoebe adjusted Ambriel's position on her shoulders and smiled   
sweetly. "So, what can we do?" she asked in her normal, happy-go-lucky   
voice, trying to hide her growing apprehension. "After all, we're the   
Sailors and we have to do something!" She winked. "I mean, without us the   
Scouts, you Mistresses would have been nice and toasted a couple of times   
and we all know that you would have hated it... Being dead, I--MMPH!"  
Cupping her hand over the blue-haired girl's mouth, Lyra let out a   
quick sigh. "Get her to the hospital," she commanded of the King's young   
brother. "We'll take care of the rest."  
"You sure?" inquired the wary Susan, teary eyes glancing at the   
girl. Seeing the teen nod, a slight smile spread across her face. "Thank   
you..."  
As the couple started slowly toward the room's doorway, a call went   
out through the ballroom.   
"Miss Michelle! Miss Alex!"  
************  
  
"It's been an hour and a half," grumbled the brunette teen,   
smoothing the folds of her yellow dress as she glanced up from her can of   
diet cola. "How long does it take to have a baby?"  
With a roll of his eyes, Eric patted her on the head. "Haley, behave  
yourself," he chided her in a light voice. "It's not every day your aunt   
has a set of twins..."  
She made a face and said nothing.  
"So, we were told that..." Hannah glanced at the ceiling as she laid  
back into the hospital couch, listening to her mother's footfalls on the   
tile floor. From across the waiting room, she could hear her sister's   
giggles and soft murmurs from Eric's direction. She smiled timidly.  
The aqua-haired woman glanced at her daughter. "Are you going to   
tell us this 'news' or what?" she demanded in a testy voice, glaring down   
at her watch every few seconds as she spoke.  
Pausing to roll up her tuxedo shirt's sleeves, Alexandra looked   
down at her daughter and son-and-law, hands on her hips. "Ever since we   
got here, all you can talk about is this 'great news' that's 'so   
wonderful'..." She made a face. "What the heck is it?"  
Brian sat up in his seat. "Well, we were going to wait to tell you   
until after the babies, but..."  
"It's about me moving out," put in his new wife, clutching her   
skirts as she spoke.  
Bursting out into tears, Michelle buried her head in her hands. Alex  
rolled her green eyes and muttered unkind comments about the overall   
effect of weddings on her wife. A small soft hand reached across the gap   
between the couch and the large chair that the musician sat on, and the   
black-haired bride smiled gently at her beautiful mother. "Brian has a   
very rich uncle," she told the woman.  
The blonde man nodded quickly. "He owns a bunch of really ritzy   
model homes on the outskirts of town." Michelle turned to him with teary   
blue eyes. "You know the ones, right? They've all got dozens of rooms and   
huge dining areas and they're really, really expensive..."  
Alex's stomach lurched. She felt her eyes water. She knew what was   
coming...  
"Well, there's this one house in particular that he has," Brian   
continued in a soft voice, smiling. "It's way to big for him, but when he   
heard about our 'family situation'..."  
"He invited us to move into this enormous house," Hannah finished,   
her voice a bit amused as she watched her more masculine parent   
frantically bunch the edge of her shirt in her hands. "Provided you two,   
Haley, and Susan's whole family moves in with us."  
Michelle's elated gasp echoed through the waiting room as she dove   
forward and pulled her daughter into a tight hug. Brian smiled, and then   
he glanced at his other mother-in-law...  
More specifically, he glanced at his sobbing, frantic   
mother-in-law...  
"Miss Alex?"  
Purple eyes and blue eyes looked up at the young woman as she   
sniffled and ran the edge of her index finger underneath her nose. "I   
don't understand," commented her wife, wrinkling her nose. "You didn't   
shed a tear throughout the entire wedding, or during the course of my   
emotional whirlwind, but now..." Michelle trailed off and stared blankly   
at the blonde. "Why in the world are you crying?"  
"Because," sobbed Alex loudly, "it's so SAD!"  
************  
  
"You just wait!" screamed the woman, digging her nails as far into   
her boyfriend's skin as humanly possible. "If I live through this, I'm   
going to take a knife and..."  
"Susan..." The doctor's voice was tense as she glanced up at the   
ranting female. Her navy eyes narrowed in a bit of annoyance. "I don't   
want you saying things that you'll regret."  
Grimacing, Terrence shifted his weight from foot to foot and flailed  
his free arm randomly. "Make her stop!" he yelped, trying to pry her   
crimson-colored nails from his lower arm. "She's practically killing me!"  
The room fell, for the most part, silent. Only the sounds of the   
Time Guardian's panted breaths and the mechanical chirping of various   
monitors filled the air as Amy stared at her patient. Beads of sweat   
covered the woman's face as she finished going through a particularly   
harsh contraction. Her eyes were bloodshot, tears streamed from them, and  
she was gasping for breath. And beside her, as anyone would expect, was   
Terry, his green eyes full of concern as he gazed at the woman with the   
messy forest-colored hair and the reddened cheeks.  
And Amy smiled privately.  
"How much longer will this go on?" mumbled Susan, eyes half closed.   
"It hurts like Hell." She paused as her doctor and all the other nurses   
and attendants chuckled. "I swear, I am never having..."  
"Okay, enough of that," interrupted her boyfriend, laying a kiss on   
her hand. "Everything will be fine, and in a few days..."  
A nurse put up a hand. "Another contraction's coming any second."  
Pulling up her facemask, Amy smiled at her friend. "Ready to push   
some more?"  
"Do I have a choice?"  
"No."  
"Then I guess I am."  
As his girlfriend began to scream and make various other, less   
pleasant noises, Terrence felt his head start to swim. A certain, strong   
feeling flowed through his stomach as he looked down at her. Her face was   
scrunched up, jaw set in an awful grimace, but she was beautiful. And   
powerful. And...  
He gulped. And wonderful.  
As her fingers groped for and found his forearm and her nails broke   
his skin, her realized he wasn't really feeling any pain. What was this?   
What was this?  
"I see a head!" announced the blue-headed woman triumphantly as the   
contraction ended and her patient leaned back into the bed, panting   
loudly. "Only a few more pushes and you'll have yourself a brand new   
baby..."  
A sardonic smile crossed the woman's face as she glanced at the   
other Mistress. "And then I have to do all this again..."  
"But I'll be there." Terrence touched one of his hands to her cheek.  
"I'll be there for you, forever, no matter what happens."  
She glanced up at him, nearly helpless, tears streaming down her   
cheeks as she let a soft smile cross her face. "Terry..."  
"Sets, I never want to be without you," he breathed, laying a finger  
across her lips to silence her. "No matter what happens throughout my   
life, I never want to be a day without you. I love you. I think that we   
were destined to be together. Just as Serenity was for Endymion. Just as   
Michelle was for Alex and Hannah was for Brian..." He smiled and pushed   
his glasses up on his nose. "You seem to know a lot about soul-mates. I   
dare you to tell me you're not mine..."  
A nurse glanced at a monitor. "Contraction coming in a few   
seconds..."  
Sinking to one knee, Terrence Chiba took one of the green-haired   
woman's hands and kissed it tenderly. "Will you marry me?"  
"Susan, you need to push..."  
She smiled, her mouth halfway open, and then...  
She began screaming bloody murder as the contraction hit her.  
Climbing to his feet, Terrence grimaced. "I'll take that as a   
yes..."  
************  
  
"I don't believe that Susan is having her babies," she smiled softly  
to herself, smoothing the red hair of the little girl in her arms. "She'll  
be so changed..." She laid a kiss on the child's cheek. "I know I was   
when I first laid my eyes on you, little one..."  
Pulling open the doors to her chambers, the Princess of the Earth   
breathed in, sniffing the air. It smelt of fresh-cut roses and of green,   
wind-ruffled grass...  
Within the room, all curtains were pulled shut. She furrowed her   
brow. No lights were on, and--when she attempted to switch them on--she   
found that the lamps had somehow been disabled.  
"I have been waiting for you for a very, very long time," breathed   
a deep, mysterious voice.   
A cool breeze encircled her, somehow closing the marble doors behind  
her. She stumbled forward, nearly dropping the sleeping toddler. "Who...   
Who's there?"  
Nothing moved. Not even Ambriel stirred. The room was silent.  
"How easily you forget..." A sparkling of white light came from a   
large chair with its back to her. She could see silver-white hair from her  
vintage point, but not much else. "I made a vow to the woman I love to   
return. To become all of her. To love her." The strange form shook with   
laughter as it rose. "And I have come."  
Red eyes grew wide as the form neared her. It was a very familiar   
young man. He raised a hand to brush silken pink tresses from her face,   
and he then kissed her lightly on the lips, his breath tickling her face.  
"Maiden," smiled Helios, running his hand down her cheek. "Maiden,   
I have come for you..."  
Reeny held back tears long enough to lay the sleeping Ambriel onto   
her bed. Her whole body shook as she neared the young man once again. "I   
don't..." She let a stream of crystal water flow down her cheek. "Is it   
really you?" she asked, almost afraid of the answer.  
"It 'tis," he responded, resting his hands on her hips. "I am here   
for you, Princess Serenity..."  
And she fell into his arms, sobbing tears of joy.  
************  
  
He watched her touch the babe's head, nearly afraid to move. Her   
gentle fingers smoothed the fuzzy green-black hair as the woman's large   
eyes filled with tears. "Hello, little one," she choked, her voice   
strangled as she held back tears of joy. "Welcome to the world..."  
The little child didn't cry or fuss, but two enormous eyes--eyes   
which seemed to be of all colors and none--stared up at the woman. And a   
slight smile crossed the woman's lips.  
"I see it already," sighed the young doctor, placing her stethoscope  
back around her neck as she spoke. Her navy eyes glanced down at the other  
child, the one that laid in the bassinet before her. "That trip to the   
Time Gates was not wise."   
"What's wrong?" The man's green eyes enlarged as he stared at the   
blue-haired woman in fear. "Are they alright?"  
Amy smiled and picked up the second child, smiling as the little one  
opened his eyes and took his first long gander at the world. "They'll go   
through advanced aging," she told the couple matter-of-factly, holding out  
the child toward his father. "Do you want to hold him?"  
He shied away from the baby, and then actually looked at his son.   
Tears suddenly glistened in his green eyes as he took the baby in his arms  
and allowed a few tears to escape his eyes. "He's...beautiful..." Terrence  
walked slowly over to his girlfriend's bed and laid a kiss on her   
forehead. "You're beautiful... And the twins are just..."  
"Do they have names?" insisted a loud, teenage voice. The two heads   
turned to the doorway, wanting to see what--or, more appropriately, who--  
was standing in the front of the room.  
Winking a teal eyes, Haley walked up to the bed's edge, sitting on   
it cautiously. "We couldn't help but notice the fact that all those   
annoying nurses had bustled out and such."  
The two young men in tuxedoes, the woman in the wedding gown, and   
the two women who were arm in arm all nodded in chipper agreement and   
grinned. "So, do the babies have names?" inquired Eric, quick to take up   
the tiny amount of space between his brother and the brunette girl.   
Susan smiled weakly and closed her eyes. "Well, this is Aeris   
Lynne." She gestured to the tiny baby girl with the colorful eyes, who had  
fallen asleep in her arms. "And Terry has..."  
"Peter Skye," broke in the proud father, cradling his baby son   
lovingly.   
"She got her way with the names, I see," chuckled Alexandra, tossing  
her blonde hair haughtily and smirking at her friends. The green-haired   
woman's eyes flew open just long enough to catch her boyfriend's green   
ones in a meaningful glance. He nodded, and she nodded, and both smiled.   
Alex furrowed her brow. "What is that supposed to mean?"  
Brian laid an arm around Hannah's shoulders. Michelle wrapped her   
arms around her wife's waist. Eric even had the guts to take Haley's hand   
in his. They all looked at the couple.   
The young man coughed, blushed, and promptly studied the floor.   
"Uhhh... What does WHAT mean?" he asked, pretending that the meaningful   
smile that the twosome had shared had not occurred. "I don't know what   
you're..."  
Putting up a hand, Hannah Tomoe-Hartford stepped forward and looked   
her aunt straight in the eyes. Terrence froze. All the others froze. Even   
Amy, who was busily filling out all sorts of charts and papers, froze.  
And the young bride grinned. "We mean," she supplied with a wicked   
gleam in her purple eyes, "to ask you a question."  
"Which is?" He was naïve as ever. Susan grimaced and clenched her   
eyes tight shut, not daring to see what colors her boyfriend's face was   
going to turn in a few seconds.  
And the voices of Alexandra, Michelle, Hannah, Brian, Haley, and   
Eric all united for one brief second in time.  
"When's the wedding?"  
************  
  
There are some stories that go on forever.  
  
Things happen. Bad things, good things, and they effect more lives   
than can be counted. They effect more people than words can describe. And   
these things live inside each one of us.  
  
Evil is real. But the world... The world is protected. Not by some   
unreachable ideal, but by people.  
  
People. There are so many of them, aren't there?  
  
Evil is real. It lives in every one of us. Within our dreams and   
our nightmares, there is evil. We've lived it, breathed it, and it has   
haunted us in our hearts and mind.  
  
But the world... The world is protected. Not by what, buy by WHO.   
By eight people. Eight warriors.  
  
The Galactic Sailors and the Starlit Prince.  
  
They're there. In everyone's hearts.  
  
Right now, maybe the world is doing fine. And day has broken over   
the galaxy. True. But evil is real. And it will return. And it will be   
stronger and more terrifying than anything tangible.   
  
But they will be there. Eight warriors.   
  
And they will save the galaxy.  
  
There are some stories...  
  
There are some stories that live on forever.  
  
--KB--  
as written on 3.10.00  
************  



End file.
